We Never Really Knew How It Started
by flavumetrubrum
Summary: When Leo's dreams start haunting him even when he's awake Don suggests he takes a break. But when his dreams start to come true, will the turtles be able to survive?
1. Chapter 1

_We never really knew how it started. Everything had seemed to be going so well; the Shredder was dead, Karai was leaving us alone, there was little Foot activity, and the Purple Dragons were laying low for a while. We should have listened to Leo. He told us it was too quiet, but we refused to believe anything was going to happen. Only Master Splinter seemed to know what Leo was getting at, but we wouldn't even listen to our sensei. When I think about it, it kind of makes sense: Raph was free to kick bad guy butt vigilante style, Mikey was enjoying the free time to play video games and stuff his face, and I was finally catching up on some of the unfinished projects I had littering my lab. We didn't want to listen. We didn't want Leo to be right._

_But, of course, he was. It's a little irritating how few mistakes he makes. I mean, I guess it's good he doesn't mess up because with Raph, Mikey, and me we've pretty much got that covered. But still, everyone likes to see their big brother screw up, right? Anyway, Leo was right and something was about to happen. Something that was going to make us fight hard to survive._

Leo woke up with a nagging feeling that all his fears were going to be realized that day. He rubbed his hand over his eyes, trying to get rid of the sleep clouding his senses. He heard Don snoring softly above him, but silence filled the rest of the house.

_Good_, he thought. _I can get in some __training__ before everyone else is up._ He pushed himself out of bed, careful not to creak too loudly, and quickly put on his pads, belt, and swords. He always slept in his mask; all of the turtles did. They really didn't know why, but it was a habit they had all adopted. He crept out of his room and down the stairs, heading for the dojo.

Leo paused just inside the door. _What's this strange feeling?_ Leo put his hand on his head as he became dizzy and broke out in a cold sweat. Why was he so nervous? The feeling passed quickly, and Leo dismissed it as a lack of proper sleep. After all, that dream had been plaguing his every sleeping moment for over a week now. He took a deep breath, held it for a second, and then let it out. He shook his head to clear the dream from his mind and began training.

Donny was vaguely aware of Leo leaving the room, but stayed in bed for another hour. He finally swung his legs over the side of his bunk and slid to the floor. He donned his equipment and headed downstairs for breakfast. He saw Leo training in the dojo and Mikey watching his Saturday morning cartoons. Raph was making a lot of noise in the kitchen making himself breakfast. Don grabbed his favorite cereal and plopped down at the table where the milk was already set out. He began to eat, mumbling a muffled "morning" to Raphael. Raph merely nodded in response, obviously worn out from a little late night justice enforcing with Casey.

A crash was heard coming from the dojo followed by a muffled grunt. Donny turned quickly to see Leo sitting, leaning against an overturned rack of practice weapons.

"Leo!" Mikey was in the dojo ahead of Don and Raph, helping the dazed-looking Leonardo to his feet.

"What happened, Bro? You just like, fell over," Mikey was asking.

"I- I don't know. It was like… I don't know." Leo looked confused, but Don could tell he was holding something back, like he had an idea of what was going on and didn't want to tell them. Oh well, that's Leo for you. Don would get the truth out of him later. For now he had to see if Leo was physically okay.

Raph sat next to Mikey on the couch waiting for Don to come out of the lab. He tapped his fingers on the arm of the sofa impatiently, staring at the TV without actually watching it. What the shell was taking so long?

Raph practically leaped to his feet as the door to Donny's lab slid open. Leo was walking out with him. Don stopped and spoke softly to Leo, who looked ready to argue; one look at Don's stern face and Leo meekly obeyed, heading upstairs to his room. Raph waited impatiently for the door to close before asking gruffly, "Well, what's wrong with 'im?"

Don sighed and sat down on the couch. Leo had obviously been giving him trouble based on the weary slump of Donny's shoulders. "Physically, nothing. Mentally…"

"So the Fearless Leader's finally lost it. I was wondering how long until the pressure got to 'im," Mikey said loudly, tapping his forehead. Raph snarled at him but Donny only sighed.

"Unfortunately, Mikey's not too far from the truth…"

"What? Leo's crazy?" Raph interrupted.

Don held up a hand and continued where he left off. "…About the pressure. Leo's not insane, but I think he needs a little break. He's been under a lot of stress with the Shredder and everything, and now that that threat's gone, he doesn't know how to handle it." Don let out another sigh. "He said he keeps getting the feeling that something bad's gonna happen. He said he gets really nervous and dizzy and starts sweating… And then there are the dreams."

When Don didn't continue Raph prompted him. "Dreams? What dreams?"

"He said he's flying through the air, after an explosion, and when he lands he's all alone. He tries to find us, but there's so much debris that he can't. He says it's dark and he can't see anyone, so he starts to call for us. He starts panicking and gets dizzy… And then he wakes up. He's been having the dream for a week now, and today he saw it in a vision, while he was practicing. And at the part where he normally wakes up he fell over." Donny paused here for a moment, thinking. "I told him to go get some rest. I…" Donny sighed yet again. "I don't think… I think he should take a break from leading us for a while." Raph gasped. Asking Leo to stop leading was like asking Mikey to think. It just didn't happen. Don must have noticed the shocked look on Raphael's face, because he quickly added, "Not permanently. Just while there's not much going on. He needs to relax."

Raph snorted, knowing this wouldn't turn out well. "Good luck gettin' 'im to agree to that. Just make sure I'm not there when ya tell Leo."

Mikey listened to the shouts coming from Leo's room. He had known Leo wouldn't take Don's suggestion well, but he hadn't expected him to be so mad. He crept closer to the door, trying to hear what was being said.

"Leo, you need the rest. The pressure's too much…"

"You want me to stop leading when you all need me the most? The dreams, Donny. What about the dreams?"

"That's exactly why you need to take a break. The dreams are merely your body telling you you're under way too much stress. It's a natural warning sign. If you keep doing this to yourself your health is going to deteriorate." Don sounded exasperated and exhausted at the same time.

"That's just it, Don. I don't believe that. It's not just any dream, it's-- It's like a vision. A message. Like someone or something is trying to warn me. I can't just 'take a break' and leave you guys unprotected."

"Leo—"

"Look, Donny, I appreciate the concern but I'm not going to stop leading and I'm not going to stop protecting you. So stop asking."

"Leo…" Donny grunted in frustration. "You know what, fine! Suit yourself. But when you crack you can't say I didn't warn you." As footsteps approached the door Mikey pretended to be just leaving his room. Don walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He looked at Mikey, who must have looked guilty because Don said, "You heard that?"

"I think we all did," Raph called from downstairs.

Mikey put his hand on the tired-looking turtle's shoulder. "You couldn't really have expecting anything else, bro. I mean Leo and leading are like peanut butter and jelly. You can't have one without the other."

Donny sighed, "I know, I just hoped he would use a little common sense for once and at least try to understand that he's only hurting himself by not resting. But I guess guys like Leo never change." Don was interrupted by his shell cell ringing. It was April. "Hey, April. What's up?"

"Donny, you and the guys have to get out here as soon as possible. The Purple Dragons, they're up to something again. Casey's here but we can't hold them off much longer."

"Where, April?"

"At the lab. They want something we have."

"Okay, we'll be there as soon as we can!" Don hung up the phone and put it back in his belt. "Raph, Leo, come on!"


	2. Chapter 2

Sapphire93, mav32, and Kyaserin Marii, thank you so much for your reviews. This is my first fanfic and they mean a lot. Also, I forgot to say anything last time but as much as I wish I did, I don't own the turtles.

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By the time Leonardo and his brothers reached April's lab, there were no signs of the Purple Dragons anywhere… or April and Casey for that matter. Leo felt the all too familiar nervous feeling growing stronger as he cautiously entered the dark laboratory. It had been growing stronger ever since they left the lair, and now the nausea came in waves.

Donny came up behind him and whispered in his ear, "You okay, Leo?" Leo looked at his brother, who had a slightly concerned "I told you so" look on his face. Leo nodded, not trusting his voice. The older turtle ignored Don's exasperated sigh and kept searching for any clues as to what happened.

Don pulled his shell cell out of his belt and dialed April. Hopefully she was okay…

"Donatello? Where are you guys? We couldn't hold the Dragons off anymore so we had to abandon the lab. Is it…?"

"The lab's fine, April," Don said in reply to her mostly unspoken question. "A few windows are shattered and some of your instruments are broken, but the damage isn't too bad."

"Good. You all should probably get out of there. I don't know what the Dragons wanted, or if they found it. They could be back."

"All right, April. We'll just check to make sure everything's okay, then we'll leave."

"Okay, bye, Donny."

"Bye, April." Don hung up the phone and turned just in time to see Leo sway and almost fall.

Raphael caught Leo just before he collapsed to the floor. "Leo! What's wrong, Bro?" Mikey and Donny joined them quickly, both wearing worried expressions.

Leo looked up at them, panic written all over his face. "We have to get out here, quick!" Leo yelled, shoving his brothers toward the door. Raph was confused. What the shell was Leo carrying on about? "Come on," their leader screamed, looking more scared than Raph had ever seen him look in his life. Raph followed his brothers back toward the front of the lab, wondering if Leo really had gone crazy.

Michelangelo was totally lost as Leo practically dragged him toward the door, screaming for them to hurry up. He was still reeling from the shock of his normally calm oldest brother's outburst. What was going on?

Mikey didn't have to wonder for long. Suddenly the whole front end of the lab exploded in a ball of flames. All four brothers were thrown to the back of the small building, followed by pieces of April's beloved lab. The last thing Mikey saw before darkness engulfed him was a piece of brick flying at his head.

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Sorry this chapter was so short, but I wanted to get something up to set up the rest of the story. I promise, the next chapter will be longer AND more exciting. 


	3. Chapter 3

Still don't own the turtles. Enjoy!

_Leo watched as his brothers flew through the air, landing in different spots around the lab. Why hadn't he realized it before? After all the dreams, he should have seen sooner. They were in April's lab—that was the place in his dream. And the explosion was coming from somewhere in the lab. He had to get his brothers out. Now!_

"Leo, what's wrong, Bro?" That was Raph's voice. Leo looked up to see all of his brothers looking at him worriedly.

Leo shoved his brothers toward the door, shouting, "We have to get out of here, quick!" At the lack of response from his brothers, Leo started screaming again. "Come on!" He had to get them to safety. He dragged and shoved the confused-looking turtles toward the front of the lab, praying they would make it in time.

But he was too late. The explosion came from close to the door, sending all four turtles flying in the direction they had just come from. Leo landed hard on his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He struggled to locate his brothers but was forced to cover his head with his arms as half of the building flew at him.

Then, as quickly as it had begun, it was over. The building had for the most part collapsed, bringing down the abandoned apartments above down on top of it. Leo struggled to breathe through the dust that clouded his vision. He tried to stand up; pain instantly shot through his body and he fell back to the floor. He lay there for a moment, catching his breath, before carefully trying again, slower this time.

He inhaled sharply at the pain in his chest but continued to rise. He stopped once he was on his knees, looking around for any signs of his brothers.

"Raphael? Donatello? Michelangelo?" Leo called, his voice surprisingly weak. He took a deep breath before trying again. "Raph! Donny! Mikey!" Still no answer. He looked closely at his surroundings for the first time. This was all way too familiar. Not knowing where his brothers were, being trapped in a small space by so much rubble… As if dreaming this over and over hadn't been bad enough.

The back wall was still fully intact, at least as much of it as Leo could see. _The others must be closer to the front_, Leo thought. He had been closest to the door when the explosion went off, so he had probably been thrown back the farthest. There was a wall of debris a few feet in front of him—hopefully none of his brothers were trapped underneath that. Off to his right was a smaller pile of bricks and metal beams; he might as well start looking there.

He slowly stood up the rest of the way, holding his sore plastron. He looked down at his chest, shocked by what he saw. There was a large bruise spreading across his chest, and blood oozed from a three-inch-long crack in his plastron. _No wonder it hurts so __bad_Oh well, it wasn't bad enough to keep him from looking for his brothers. He headed toward the pile in the corner, not sure if he really wanted to find one of his brothers in there.

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Donatello groaned as he woke up. Where was he? What had happened? Realization flooded Don a little too quickly. _Oh man, Leo was right, _was his first thought. Why hadn't he listened?

He slowly became aware of his surroundings. He was on his back surrounded by pieces of the laboratory. There was something heavy across his legs—he tried to move them and was relieved to discover he could. He turned his head to either side; to his left was a wall of debris and to his right, barely visible through a tangled mess of bricks, beams, and broken glass, was a gaping hole in the front of the building.

Don sat up, wincing as his legs scraped against the large metal pole wedged above them. At least they weren't pinned. If the pole hadn't caught on the wall of rubble his legs would probably be broken. As it was they were bruised and sore. He rubbed at his aching shins and wondered where his brothers were. He thought about Leo's dream; Leo never found out if they survived or not. Donny pushed the scary thought from his mind and focused on hoping for the best. It wasn't like they actually died in the dream, after all.

Donny gave up on standing after landing hard on his backside, legs throbbing mercilessly. _I'm so glad Raph isn't here to see this_, he thought as he crawled toward the thinner wall of debris. He quickly changed his mind, however. He would gladly put up with Raph's sarcastic comments if it meant he knew he was okay.

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Raphael swore as he remembered what had happened. _Why the shell does Leo always __gotta__ be right? _He pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the pain in his shoulder and upper arm, and studied the extent of the damage done by the explosion. Not good. From what he could tell, the whole building had collapsed after the bomb went off. Raph had been thrown to the side by the blast, and had landed near the front of the building. He was trapped on three sides by piles of rubble, and on the fourth was the only standing part of the front wall, far away from the door and the few windows.

He could probably climb over the debris that were trapping him, but with his sore arm and the fact that he had no idea what was on the other side, he decided that might not be the best idea. He decided to try to dig his way out, starting at the top of the smallest pile. _This is gonna be a blast! _he thought, then cringed at his poor choice of words. _Might as well get started._

Mikey was first aware of the painful throbbing in his head. He teetered between consciousness and unconsciousness for a few moments before deciding to stay awake and figure out where he was. The last thing he remembered was the call from April, running to her lab, Leo freaking out, and then… The explosion. _So Leo wasn't crazy. Or maybe I'm crazy too. My head hurts… _Mikey finally opened his eyes, shocked by what he saw. He was sitting up in a corner of the lab, covered in dust and surrounded by pieces of brick. Barely to the left of his foot was a large concrete block. _That could have really hurt…_

He craned his neck to see the wall he was leaning against; it felt uneven and unstable. It wasn't a wall at all. A real wall, anyway. It was a large pile of debris that stretched from the floor to the cracked and broken ceiling. _Really hope that doesn't cave in._ Mikey brushed some of the rubble off of himself and slowly eased himself to his feet. He settled for his knees as dizziness overcame him. He took his hand from his forehead. On it was blood. Mikey remembered seeing the brick flying at his face. No wonder he was so dizzy…

Mikey held his breath as he heard a scraping sound behind him. He scooted away a little, nervously eyeing the threatening wall of large debris. He nearly jumped out of his shell when he heard a familiar voice on the other side of the wall. "Raph! Donny! Mikey!"

Relief flooded him as he called back, "Leo, it's Mikey! I'm here, Bro!

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As promised, longer and, I hope, a little more exciting. I know nothing's really happened yet, but I have big plans for the next chapter. Thanks again to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, and aronoiiel for your reviews. I really appreciate them! 


	4. Chapter 4

As much as I love the turtles, I don't own them. Thanks to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, and BubblyShell22 for your reviews. They're really encouraging. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Leonardo desperately hacked at the wall of debris with his katanas, tears falling down his cheeks. This couldn't be happening! All of his fears were coming to life in front of his very eyes. He had to find his brothers!

"Raph! Donny! Mikey!" he screamed. He paused for a moment, holding his chest and trying not to focus on the horrible pain. He paused, leaning closer to the rubble. Was that a voice on the other side?

The sound came again, "Leo… Mikey… here, Bro!"

Adrenaline suddenly shot through Leo's body. It was Mikey. He was alive! "Mikey, are you okay? Can you move? Mikey!"

Leo strained to hear his brother's voice, "…Fine, Leo. …Head… brick… Fine…" So Mikey was alright.

"I'm coming, Mikey! I'll be there as soon as I can." He started pulling at the larger debris before stopping and looking up at the large barrier. He had to be careful; one wrong move could bring the whole pile down on top of Mikey. He studied the wall for the best place to remove some of the rubble.

Donatello pulled some of the larger beams and bricks out of his way before squeezing through the hole he had created. He gasped out loud as his shins banged into a concrete block, sending pain shooting up and down his legs. He fell in a heap on the other side of the pile of debris, holding his shins and biting his lip. He looked at his legs as soon as the pain subsided and noticed a large, ugly bruise running up and down either of his shins. At least they weren't broken…

Donny looked around at his new surroundings. There was more debris on this side of the wall; larger chunks of the lab that hadn't been thrown to the back of the building covered the floor. Other piles of debris were scattered around the room.

His attention was drawn to one corner that was completely surrounded by rubble. It seemed to be moving; Don gasped as one pile began to fall over. He scrambled to his right, hoping to get out of the way in time. He barely made it before the five-foot-high pile of bricks and concrete collapsed to the floor. He looked back at the corner, breathing hard.

What he saw sent relief spreading through his whole body. "Raph!"

Raphael was surprised when the whole mound fell outward. That _was a shell of a lot easier than I_ _expected_, he thought. _Hopefully nobody's out there…_ As soon as the dust cleared Raph peered out of his corner, making sure none of his brothers had been trapped under the pile he'd just tipped.

"Raph!" Raphael's head snapped quickly to his left, recognizing his brother's voice immediately.

"Donny! I didn't hurt you, did I?" Raph rushed to the other turtle's side; Don was on his hands and knees in the middle of all the rubble.

"No, it's okay, Raph. I got of the way in time," Don reassured him. "Are you alright? Have you seen the others?"

"I'm fine, Don. Hurt my arm a little but I'll be alright. I 'aven't seen 'em; I was hoping you had." Raph looked anxiously at the wall of rubble separating them from the back of the lab. "Sure hope they're okay… Are you hurt?"

"Just a little. My legs are bruised, but they're not broken. I can't walk, but they'll be fine in a few days," Donny replied.

Raph was relieved beyond words to know that at least one of his brothers was alive. Now they just had to find Leo and Mikey. He walked toward the thin wall of debris, peering through a large hole. Don spoke from his place on the floor, "I came from back there. There was a thicker wall of rubble on the other side, and a smaller one right down the middle. I was hoping all three of you would be closer to the front, but I guess not… I sure hope they weren't trapped under all those bricks and stuff."

"Don, you stay here. I'll see if I can find anyone. I'll be back in a minute."

Mikey sat back holding his head, relaxing for the first time since waking up. Leo was coming… He jumped as something was pulled noisily from the wall behind him, stirring up more dust in the already hard-to-breathe air. Mikey coughed, hoping Leo wouldn't be much longer. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder; and screamed like a little girl.

"Mikey, relax. It's me, Leo." Mikey craned his neck to see his oldest brother. Leo's voice sounded a little weak but very much alive. Leo walked around him and sat down in front of him. "Are you hurt? Are you okay?"

Mikey pointed at his head, saying, "My head feels like it did when I tried that new trick on my skateboard a few months ago, but other than that I'm fine." Leo frowned, looking concerned. "Chill out dude, it's just a headache."

"It may not be just a headache. Remember what happened last time?"

"Yeah, Donny said I had a percussion or something like that."

Leo looked confused for a moment before realization and amusement settled over his features. "I think you mean a concussion, Mike, and that's just what I'm afraid of. You've got to stay awake until we find Donny, okay?"

"Got it, Bro. I'm not sleepy anyway," Mikey said.

"That's a good sign, I think."

"What about you, Bro? You okay?" Mikey looked closely at his brother for the first time. He seemed to be breathing heavily, and it looked like he was in pain. Mikey gasped when his eyes fell on Leo's plastron. "Man, Leo. That looks awful. What happened, dude?"

Leo looked like he wished Mikey hadn't said anything but sighed and answered, "It's nothing, Michelangelo. I'm going to go look for Raph and Don. You stay here, and try not to go to sleep." Mikey opened his mouth to protest but stopped when he heard something off to his left, on the other side of one of the piles of wreckage.

"Leo! Mikey! You guys okay?" It was Raph!

Leo was by the wall in a second, shouting back. "Raphael, are you alright? Where's Donatello?"

"Leo, thank god! I'm fine, Don's at the front of the lab; he's okay too. We're both a little sore, but we're okay? Have you seen Mikey? Are you okay?"

Mikey jumped in at this point. "I'm here too, Raph. I hit my head and Leo's chest is messed up, but we should be okay too."

A few minutes later all four brothers were together again. After checking to make sure his brothers were okay and telling Don about his concerns for Mikey, Leo leaned against a pile of debris, holding his chest and thinking about everything they had just gone through.

He jumped slightly as a hand was placed on his arm. "You okay, Leo?" Raph asked. Leo looked up at his younger brother, tears in his eyes. "Man, Leo, what's wrong?"

"I thought—"Leo's voice cracked and he tried to force the emotion from his voice. "I thought I had lost you all. It was just like my dream, only it was real. I…" Leo's voice trailed off again.

In one of his rare sensitive moments, Raph pulled the distraught turtle into an embrace. "It's okay, Leo. We're together again. Everything's gonna be okay now." What Raphael didn't know was that their troubles had only just begun.

Okay, sorry about the cheesy ending, but I couldn't think of any other way to wrap up this chapter. I know I said I had big plans for this chapter, but actually those are gonna have to wait until next time. Anyway, I hope you liked it. Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, sorry I didn't update yesterday; Wednesdays are really busy for me. Anyway, I'll be the first to let you know it the turtles ever belong to me, but for now they don't. Enjoy!

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(Seconds after the explosion) The man landed on the roof of the building directly across the street from April's lab. As he watched the whole front end of the building blow up, a satisfied grin slowly spread across his face. He spoke into the headset he wore, "The turtles' human friends have been eliminated."

A haughty voice replied over the radio, "Good. Now we move on to their father, the rat called Splinter."

The man on the roof let out a short, sinister laugh. "With pleasure, Sir."

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(After the turtles have found each other) Leo held one of his elbow pads to his chest, trying to stop the bleeding. Donny said it would hurt like shell for a few weeks but it wasn't anything serious. Mikey did have a mild concussion, but Don wasn't too worried about that either. Raph's shoulder had been dislocated in the blast, but once Don popped it back into place he confirmed that although it would be sore for a while, there was no lasting damage. Don's legs would be fine in a few days, after the soreness was gone.

After he had gotten over the shock of actually seeing his nightmare come to life, Leo was able to breathe a sigh of relief that it was over. The turtles had escaped with reasonably minor injuries, and after a few weeks would be back to normal. Leo only hoped this meant the dreams were over.

"Hey Leo, you ready to head home?" Raph interrupted his thoughts. Leo pulled the bloody pad away from his plastron, peering at the wound. The bleeding had stopped.

"Yeah, I'm good. Let's go." Leo threw the pad to the ground, then helped the still dizzy Mikey to his feet. Raph supported Donny, who hobbled on his bruised legs. The four brothers climbed carefully over the debris and out of the front of April's wrecked lab. They glanced around, making sure there was no one to see them, and made their way as fast as they could to the closest manhole cover.

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Don winced as he made his slow way down the ladder into the sewer, trying to use his legs as little as possible. Leo was already at the bottom, waiting to help him once he got low enough. When he got close to the end, he felt Leo's hands grab his shell, trying to keep he weight off of his legs.

He heard Leo grunt as Don's shell bumped his plastron; Don hoped he hadn't hurt him too bad. "Sorry, bro. You okay?"

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Leo said through clenched teeth, and Donny noticed that it was bleeding a little again. He would have to stitch that up once they got home. Leo supported him until Raph reached the bottom and pulled his arm over his shoulder, freeing their oldest brother to help Mikey.

Don wasn't too worried about Mikey's concussion. It was minor and, although Don would keep an eye on his vital signs while he slept, Mike would be back to his normal antics in a couple days. Raph and Don would just be sore for a while, and the only thing about Leo's injury that bothered him was the bleeding, but even that wasn't too bad.

Donny looked up at the familiar sound of the lair door sliding open. They were home already? He must have been zoned out a little. Don couldn't wait to finish taking care of his brothers and get some sleep.

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Raph helped Donny to the couch, then plopped down beside him. He was glad Master Splinter was on one of his spiritual journey things; he knew none of them wanted to explain what had happened. He just wanted to climb in bed and sleep for days.

But Don had other plans. "Raph, help me to my lab. I've got to take care of your arm. There's no muscle or nerve damage, but I've still got to immobilize it for a while to let the strained tendons and ligaments heal. Plus, you may have torn some of the cartilage, which also needs to heal.

Raph protested, "Come on, Brainiack. I just wanna get some sleep."

"And you can, _after_ I take care of your arm." Raph sighed and gave in, for once too tired to argue. He helped Donny to his feet, and supported him as he limped painfully to his lab. He sat impatiently as his younger brother wrapped his shoulder in an ace bandage and put his arm in a sling. "Now you can go to bed," Don told him. "And send Mikey in; I want to check his head."

Raph nudged his drowsy brother as he walked by, mumbling, "You're next," then walked upstairs to his room. He collapsed, exhausted, into his hammock and fell asleep immediately.

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Mikey was in a daze as Leo helped him into Don's lab. His head hurt and all he wanted to do was sleep. Leo must have been right about the concussion; he felt just like he had after the failed skateboard trick. He was only half aware of Donny shining a light in his eyes and examining the bruise on his forehead.

Finally Don spoke into his ear, "Mikey, it's not bad. You can sleep now; you can sleep down here tonight, okay?" Mikey had no objections; he was asleep almost before Don finished.

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Thanks to mav32, Kyaserin Marii, Sapphire93, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, and Merdeka21 for your reviews.


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aroniiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, and merdeka21 for your reviews. It's great to know what you think of my story. Also, I'm really sorry it took me so long to update. Life is crazy! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

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After helping Don upstairs to their room, Leo collapsed gratefully into his bed, moaning as he aggravated the bruise on his chest. Donny had stitched it up and told him to take it easy for a while. And for once in his life Leo intended to do just that. At least for a couple days…

Leo thought back over the events of that long day. Only now did it actually sink in that it had all been real. At the time, it had felt like another nightmare, but it had actually happened. He silently thanked everything he could think of that his brothers were all okay.

As much as he wanted—no, needed—to sleep, Leo found himself afraid to close his eyes. What if the dreams didn't go away? What if they were only made worse by the day's events. Leo shuddered as he thought about reliving the ordeal over and over in his sleep. He fought off a yawn, trying to stay awake despite the sleep that was steadily overcoming him.

Leo finally closed his eyes and was immediately asleep. _Master Splinter was walking through the sewers, a few miles from the lair but definitely headed home. He seemed agitated about something, obvious by the violent lashing of his tail. He stopped suddenly and sniffed the air. Suddenly, he was surrounded by about twenty unknown ninjas; they were dressed similarly to the Foot but were bearing a different logo. The ninjas closed in on the old rat, preparing to kill…_

Leo awoke with a start. "Not again," he moaned. He thought about the outcome of his previous nightmare and immediately became terrified for his master's safety. "Master Splinter…" he whispered, all thoughts of additional sleep forgotten. He pushed himself out of bed, again moaning as he pulled at the stitches in his plastron. But he had to find Master Splinter…

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Donny was dead to the world almost before he was in bed. He mumbled a thanks to Leo, not sure if he had even formed words or not. He slept soundly for a few hours before suddenly awaking with a feeling that something was wrong. Leo was normally the one who got such "feelings", but Don occasionally got them as well. He could count on one three-fingered hand the number of times Raph and Mikey, together, had had such a premonition.

Don painfully leaned over the edge of his bunk and peered through the dark at Leo's. His breath caught in his throat. Leo was gone… and his bed was a mess. Leo never left his bed in such a state, even if he was only up to go to the bathroom. He must have been really worried about something—or someone—to leave if like that.

Don thought about trying to hop down from the top bunk but quickly dismissed the idea when he remembered his legs. The only thing jumping would accomplish would be further damage to his legs and Don being just as stranded on the floor as he now was his bed. So that was out of the question. He held his breath, listening for sounds of Leo anywhere in the lair… but all he heard was Raph's loud snoring and the ticking of a clock.

So Leo was either asleep somewhere else or he wasn't in the lair; Don pushed the second thought from his mind, scared by the possibilities it held. He clung to the hope that his oldest brother had fallen asleep on the couch after a trip to the kitchen, or that maybe he was even meditating in the dojo to clear his mind of the stress of that day.

Don sighed and lay back down on the bed, accepting his rationales for Leo's absence. He was soon asleep, though the sleep was not nearly as restful as before.

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Raph had never welcomed sleep as readily as he did that night. His shoulder was throbbing and he had never felt so tired and sore in his life. But something seemed to be nagging his subconscious, even as he snored loudly. Something wasn't right.

He moaned as his eyes opened and he became aware of his surroundings. He was in his bed, under Mikey, who was muttering softly in his sleep, something about scaling pink and purple polka-dotted cliffs, whatever the shell that was supposed to mean. So Mikey was fine… What was it that was causing his uneasiness?

Raph thought how strange it was for him to be having this kind of feeling. This was usually Splinter and Leo's department, never his. And yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was in trouble. He focused on each of his brothers' presences and decided they were all okay. There was a slight disturbance in Leo, but that was nothing unusual considering what they had gone through that day. Finally he focused on their sensei and decided that was who it was. He was in danger, but he seemed to be okay, and it didn't seem to be life-threatening… yet.

He tried to sit up in bed, but it was no use. He was too exhausted to move. He decided to stay awake and stay focused on his master's presence, ready to wake up his brothers if the danger became serious. But he did not stay awake long; the fatigue from the day's adventure was too much to hold off.

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Mikey slowly regained consciousness, his strange dreams fading away. He had been dreaming about something to do with pink and purple polka-dotted cliffs—strange, even for Mikey. He rubbed his eyes and glanced at his alarm clock; it was only 3:35 in the morning! He rolled over, gasping at the pain in his head, and tried to go back to sleep.

Suddenly his eyes opened again and his thoughts turned unbidden to Master Splinter. His brow creased with worry; the only other time he had felt like this was only moments before Leo came flying through the window of April's apartment. Maybe their sensei was in trouble…

But no, Splinter was on one of his spiritual journeys, and wasn't due back for a couple days. Mikey rubbed his forehead, trying to think of what day it was. Today, or rather, yesterday was Saturday, so… Master Splinter was coming home today! Maybe he was in trouble!

Mikey sat up a little too quickly and was soon lying on his shell again, trying to dispel the dizziness that had instantly clouded his senses. But it was no use, he was falling asleep again… His last thought before darkness consumed him once again were of Splinter and, for some reason, Leo.

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I know nothing really happened in this chapter, but I was mostly setting up for the next one, which should be pretty exciting. I'm not that good at writing action, but I promise to do my best, for my faithful readers and reviewers!


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, Merdeka21, and hmw95 for your reviews. They really do mean a lot.

Here's the next chapter. Still don't own the turtles… or Splinter… or April and Casey… You get the idea. Enjoy!

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Leo silently crept through the sewers, trying to calm his heavy breathing. His chest was killing him, and all he wanted to do was lie down and sleep, but he had to make sure Master Splinter was okay. The thought occurred to him that it really was just a dream, but after their experiences with his last dream, he wasn't willing to take a chance.

He was getting close to where he should find Master Splinter, if he remembered correctly. He stopped and leaned against the wall of the sewer tunnel, clutching his bandaged chest and trying to catch his breath. If he needed to fight to help his master, he needed to be as rested as possible; which, at this point, wasn't much.

He strained his ears for any sounds up ahead, and then cautiously made his way forward. He suddenly froze as he heard a steady tapping that was rapidly approaching. He made ready to hide from whatever was coming when he gasped. That was his sensei's walking stick; he would recognize that sound anywhere.

Leo walked toward the sound, ready to warn his father of the danger. He rounded a corner, opening his mouth to speak; he stopped dead in his tracks, beginning to tremble a little at the sight before him. Master Splinter was standing in the middle of a circle of the ninjas from Leo's dream, holding his staff in a battle-ready stance.

Leo watched as the ninjas drew their weapons—mostly katanas with a few bo staffs—and advanced, ready to attack Splinter. Leo also drew his swords, prepared to jump in and protect his father. One of the ninjas behind Master Splinter raised his sword and was about to attack when the rat spun around and knocked him backwards with a quick kick to the chest.

Leo waited no longer; he quickly engaged the ninjas nearest him in combat. His sore plastron protested every movement of his arms, but he had to save his master.

"Leonardo!" he heard his master exclaim in astonishment. Leo didn't look up, didn't answer. He was too intent on staying alive. He grunted as one of the ninjas broke his bo across his shell. _That on hurt, _he thought, quickly knocking the offending ninja to the ground.

Leo fought to keep as many ninjas away from his master as he could. But he was getting very tired, and the pain in his chest was becoming too much; he didn't know how much longer he could hold out.

Suddenly, the ninjas around him stopped fighting and withdrew, leaving a very confused, very sore turtle behind. Leo sank to his knees, again clutching at the wound on his chest. He felt a warm paw on his shoulder, and heard his father saying, "Leonardo, my son, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Master Splinter. Just a little worn out." The rat eyed his bandaged chest and seemed about to say something, then merely sighed and helped the turtle to his feet.

"We will discuss this in the morning. Let us go home and get some rest."

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Don woke up at 4:30 in the morning to Mikey roughly shaking him. "What the shell do you want?" he moaned, wishing his brother would leave him alone.

"Leo's gone, Donny. I got up to go to the bathroom and I came in here to check on you guys and Leo wasn't in bed so I looked for him downstairs but he isn't there either and he's not in our room or in the bathroom and I'm really worried!" Mikey took a deep breath and looked exhausted by his rushed speech.

Don was instantly awake. Leo gone? He remembered the feeling he'd had a while ago and was filled with dread. His oldest brother had been out of bed an hour ago… Where could he have gone?

"Help me down, Mikey," Don told his brother, swinging his still-aching legs over the side of his bunk. Even with his brother's help the jump sent pain shooting up his legs. As soon as the pain subsided he and Mikey went to wake up Raph, who was already sitting up in bed.

" What's wrong?" the hot-headed turtle asked.

"Leo's missing. He's nowhere in the lair," Donny answered.

"Aw, shell." Raph climbed out of bed and helped Don down the stairs. Mikey went to look for a note or any evidence of what happened to their brother. Don sat on the couch, trying to think of where Leo could be. Suddenly the lair door slid open.

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Raph was getting ready to storm out of the lair and search for his older brother when the door slid open and in walked Master Splinter, supporting a thoroughly exhausted and wheezing Leonardo. Raph gasped and ran to relieve his sensei of his burden.

He laid his brother on the ground, kneeling beside him, and looked at his father. "What the shell happened?" he demanded.

"I am not entirely sure. I was ambushed in the sewers on my way home and for some reason Leonardo was there as well. We defeated the ninjas but your brother was too fatigued to walk home on his own." The rat eyed his three younger sons, looking at the bandages and bruises covering their bodies. "And what happened here? Why are you all injured?"

"Uh… well, Leo had this dream, and then it came true, and there was an explosion and we were all hurt, but not too bad, and we came home and went to bed, and then I woke up and Leo was gone so I woke everyone up and we were really worried and then you came home and…" Mikey was breathing heavily by the time he finished his second run-on of the night.

"I see… I think," their sensei said. Donny had hobbled over and was checking Leo for new injuries.

"He doesn't seem to be hurt any more, but he's pulled some stitches and he'll probably be sleeping for quite a while. But he should be fine." Raph breathed a sigh of relief. They had barely been home for four hours before something else went wrong, but at least everyone was okay.

"I believe we should all go to bed now. We will talk further in the morning. Donatello, look after your brother, then get some rest."

"Yes, Sensei," Donny replied. Raph helped his younger brother carry Leo to the lab and lay him on the bed.

"You need any help, Don?" he asked, already half asleep.

"No, that's okay. He can sleep here tonight. I'll just fix the stitches and then come up."

"Alright," Raph said, happy to be heading to bed for the second time that night. Hopefully this time he could sleep without any interruptions.

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"Hey Raph?" Mikey asked his brother as they collapsed into their beds.

"Hmm?" his older brother mumbled.

"Why do you think Leo knew to go look for Master Splinter?"

"I dunno… It's a Leo thing. Now shut the shell up and go to sleep." Mikey couldn't fall asleep immediately. He listened to his brother's snores and thought about what had happened that day. He rubbed the back of his head and winced at the dull pain in his skull. At least it wasn't as bad as before…

Mikey closed his eyes and finally fell asleep, thinking about his oldest brother's freaky ability to see the future.

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The strange ninjas stood on the rooftop, all looking at their leader. "So the rat escaped? That's unfortunate, but not important. He was not a critical part of the plan. We shall report that we were successful and move on to the next stage—destroying the turtles one by one."

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Okay, first of all I want to apologize for an inconsistency I just remembered. After the explosion, when Mikey went to sleep, he was in the lab. Later, when he woke up, he was in his and Raph's room. I'm really sorry, just pretend that didn't happen . I'm writing this as I go and it's hard to remember everything, but again I'm REALLY sorry.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's about to get really exciting.


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks again to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, Merdeka21, and hmw95 for your faithful reviews. They make me want to keep writing.

Enjoy!

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(Raph's POV)

The next two weeks went by slowly. We all enjoyed the quiet, taking time to heal and rest. Gradually, we all but forgot about Leo's freaky dreams and everything that had happened. Everyone but him, that is. He seemed quieter, more withdrawn. He trained harder and longer. He meditated more. And we never saw him sleeping. He stayed up later than we did and got up earlier. Once I woke up at four in the morning and heard him in the dojo, training. I'm still not sure whether he had stayed up all night or just gotten up crazy early.

Anyway, we never really thought anything was out of the ordinary. I mean, Leo got like that sometimes after he thought he had failed us. I figured he was just being his normal butt-headed self. But something was different. Everything was starting over again.

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Leo finally sheathed his katanas and left the dojo, a light sheen of sweat that covered his whole body the only evidence of his extended workout. He decided to get some breakfast before the usual morning training with his brothers, who would be getting up soon.

He grabbed a towel from the rack just outside the dojo and wiped the sweat off his face and neck, then tossed it in the basket under the rack. He headed for the kitchen and sat down at the table, sighing. He had only slept for an hour the night before, and not even that hour had been restful. New dreams had begun to haunt his sleep, worse than before.

In these dreams, he is hanging from chains in a large room, surrounded by the ninjas who had attacked Master Splinter. His brothers are no where to be seen; he is all alone. Then he sees it: his brothers' weapons and blood-soaked bandanas are lying on the ground in front of him. His breath catches in his throat; he tries to scream but he can't even breathe. He closes his eyes, trying to shut out the reality…

Leo shook his head, trying to forget the haunting images. He jumped slightly as someone walked into the kitchen behind him.

"Hey, Leo." It was Don. Leo nodded back, trying not to appear too sleepy. Obviously it didn't work. "Ya know, Leo, there's a really effective cure I've heard of for early morning sleepiness. It's called sleep."

Leo snorted, but smiled a little despite himself. He knew his brothers were becoming concerned about him, but he had to make sure his latest dream didn't come true. Not like the other ones. He had to train so that he could protect his brothers. Not to mention that every time he closed his eyes to sleep he was haunted by the visions of his brothers' belongings, lying in heaps at his feet.

The two turtles were soon joined in the kitchen by Master Splinter, Mikey, and a very grumpy Raph. Leo quickly ate his breakfast and headed back to the dojo to "warm up" for practice.

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Don frowned softly as he watched his brother leave the kitchen. He sighed as he remembered how exhausted he had looked, as if he hadn't really slept in days. And for all Don knew, that was possible. He couldn't remember the last time he had bee aware of Leo entering or leaving their room during the night, and he hadn't seen him sleeping anywhere else since the incident with Master Splinter in the sewers.

He stood and made his way to the dojo with his other brothers, subconsciously checking to make sure Leo was alright as they entered the training room. His brother turned to look at them, the sleepy look gone from his face. But he couldn't hide the dark circles under his eyes and the slightly accelerated breathing. Don frowned again but began to train with his brothers without a word. He would talk to Leo later…

After training Leo stayed behind to meditate so Don had to wait even longer to confront his oldest brother. He positioned himself in his lab so that he could see the door to the dojo and sat down with his laptop to wait.

Suddenly one of the perimeter alarms went off, causing Don to jump. He quickly flipped it off and called for his brothers. Leo immediately dashed out of the dojo, Raph came out of his room, and Mikey reluctantly turned off the TV and joined his three brothers.

After quickly explaining what was wrong, Don led his brothers out of the lair into the sewers, heading for the alarm that had been tripped. When they arrived, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The turtles searched for any signs of an intruder with no luck. Raph suggested they split up and search the surrounding tunnels, and Leo was about to agree when suddenly something caught Don's eye.

A shadow was dashing around the corner not far from where the brothers were standing, obviously trying to avoid them. He motioned silently for the others to follow him, then rushed around the same corner just in time to see a manhole being replaced above his head.

"Come on, get 'im!" Raph shouted. The four turtles raced up the ladder and out into the alley—only to be greeted by a swarm of unfamiliar ninjas.

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Raph yanked his sais out of his belt without thinking, preparing to fight the army of ninjas surrounding him and his brothers. He attacked some of the closest ninjas and heard his brother do the same. Raph quickly became aware of the overwhelming odds; they were severely outnumbered and, although they far out-skilled their opponents, they didn't stand much of a chance.

"Guys, try to make it back down into the sewers. We've got a better chance there," Leo called, obviously having come to the same conclusion. Raph hated to retreat, but he finally made his way to the manhole and leaped down, Leo close behind him.

The ninjas poured in after them, but only one could get down at a time and the turtles were able to knock most of them out before more arrived. Raph was beginning to breathe heavily, however; they hadn't been working out very hard while recovering from their injuries and were a little out of shape. He didn't know how much longer they could keep this up.

Raph heard Leo suddenly cry out behind him and turned to see his older brother on his knees, stunned. Raph quickly dealt with the ninja he was fighting and ran to Leo's side.

"What's wrong bro?" he asked, but was startled when Leo shoved him, knocking him off balance and causing him to fall to his side. "What the shell was that for…" he came up shouting but stopped when he saw his brother's still form lying on the ground where Raph had been crouching only a moment before. "Leo!" he cried, trying to again make his way to the older turtle. He was almost there when he was attacked by some of the unknown ninjas.

Suddenly something hit him in the chest. He looked down at his plastron and noticed a small disc of some sort sticking to him. He reached for it, intending to pull it off, but was stopped when waves of electricity began to course through his body from the disc. He gasped before falling to the ground. The last thing he heard before the darkness engulfed him was someone calling his name from what seemed very far away.

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Mikey watched in horror as Raph fell to the ground, seemingly instantaneously unconscious. "Raph!" he called but was unable to run to his brother's aid. He realized with dread that only he and Don were left fighting the ninjas. He had seen Raphael fall… but where was Leo?

He knocked out one of the ninjas with a quick blow to the head and turned to search for their leader. He spotted him lying not to far from Raph, also unconscious. What had happened? Mikey thought it strange that Leo and Raph had been the first two turtles taken out by their attackers. After all, these ninjas were nowhere near as skilled as the Foot, although far more numerous.

As much as he longed to run to his brothers' sides, he knew he couldn't leave Don alone to hold off the ninjas. So he stayed to fight, hoping his brothers were merely unconscious and not injured.

Without warning, Don jerked and fell to the ground, just as Raph had done. Now Mikey was thoroughly confused. The ninjas hadn't even touched Don, and now he was out cold along with their oldest brothers. He didn't have to wonder long, however, before he too was lying on the ground, reeling from the shocks that had just racked his body. He closed his eyes and gave in to the darkness, still not sure what had happened.

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I'm soooo sorry it took so long to update. Life is crazy and, on top of that, I got halfway through the chapter before decided I hated where it was going and scrapping it, starting over from the beginning. So that took a little extra time. But, anyway, I hope this chapter was worth the wait.


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for the wait. I had two big papers due yesterday and I had to get them done before I could write anymore ninja turtles. Thanks to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, Merdeka21, hmw95, and Lady-of-the-Rings for your reviews. They give me purpose ).

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Leo awakened with a groan. His whole body was sore; what had happened? He remembered fighting the ninjas and the pain from the first wave of shocks… pushing Raph out of the way and being knocked unconscious by the second disc…. Raph! Where were his brothers?

He opened his eyes, studying his surroundings. He was alone in a large room, chained to the wall by his wrists. The room was completely empty except for a large mirror on the opposite wall and was brightly lit. He pulled his legs under him and stood up, trying to keep his weight from straining his arms so badly. He shuddered at the pain the simple movement sent shooting through his body.

Leo tried to remember anything that could have happened to his brothers. Had they escaped, or were they also captives? He didn't remember anything after the second shock, but that meant Raph, Don, and Mikey might have escaped. He clung to that hope and turned his thoughts to where he was. They had been fighting the same ninjas that had attacked Master Splinter, but that didn't help him much. He had no idea who they worked for, let alone where their base was. That is, if he was even at their base.

Leo hated the feeling of helplessness that came over him. He had no idea what he was up against, or even where his family was. He pulled slightly on the chains, testing their strength. He gasped as pain radiated from the center of his chest. He strained his head to see his plastron, wondering what had caused the intense pain. He realized with horror that the crack from the explosion, which had almost completely healed, had been reopened. There was dried blood all over his chest, and it hurt like shell to move his arms. So breaking free of the wall was no longer an option… Leo sighed in frustration and again thought about his brothers.

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Don awoke to dull pain all over his body. He tried to move, but only succeeded in groaning loudly and causing his head to spin.

"Donny? You okay?" a familiar voice asked.

"R-Raph? What happened? Where are we?" the dazed turtle responded.

"We were captured by those ninjas, best I can tell. No clue where we are though."

Don tried to process the information. He still hadn't opened his eyes, and he didn't know if he wanted to. "Leo and Mikey?"

"Mikey's still out of it. He'll be fine, though. He was talkin' in 'is sleep not too long ago," Raph answered.

When Raph didn't continue, Don prompted, "And Leo? Where's Leo?" The lack of response from his older brother caused Don to open his eyes in alarm. "What's wrong?" He looked around the small room they were being held in. There was Mikey, eyes closed and drool dripping down his chin, there was Raph, avoiding his gaze…. But where was Leo?

Raph cleared his throat nervously. "Um… I dunno. He was gone when I woke up. Haven't seen or heard anything since." Don frowned, concerned. Had Leo gotten away, or was he being held somewhere else? Or had he…. Don forced the thought from his mind, refusing to count it among the possibilities. Leo was alive. He had to be.

Don jumped as Mikey snorted and his head jerked up. He had awoken abruptly, probably roused by their conversation.

"What—what's going on?" he mumbled. He looked at them with tired eyes. He stared at Don, then Raph, then…. Mikey's eyes flew open suddenly. "Leo. He wasn't moving. Is he—"

"We don't know, Mikey. We haven't seen him since the fight," Don told his frightened brother. He saw worry flood Mikey's eyes and he looked away. He hated seeing any of his brothers disturbed, but especially Mikey. He was his only little brother, and even though Leo and Raph had the whole 'older brother thing' down, he still felt protective of his baby brother.

Don looked up as the door to the room slid open and a large figure walked in, holding something that took his breath away.

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Raph stared at the object in the man's hands, trying not to believe what he was seeing. The stranger held Leo's katanas, the ones he had helped him forge at the farmhouse after the incident with the Shredder. His breath caught in his throat as he realized what it could mean….

"God, no!" he shouted, refusing to accept the possibility.

"Relax, turtle. Your leader is not dead—yet. Observe," the man said, motioning to one of the walls of the room. It had begun to slide open, revealing a window on the other side. Raph gasped. Leo was hanging from the fall wall, facing them. His head was hanging against his blood-covered chest and his legs were limp beneath him. He was battered and bruised and he wasn't moving.

"You bastard! What have you done to our brother?" Raph yelled, feeling the familiar anger bubble up within him. No one messed with Leo but him.

"Only a fraction of what we will do to him, and you in time. You will watch your brother slowly die from this room, and then you three will die, one at a time." The man turned to leave, dropping the katanas on the floor. "I have a little visit to pay to your 'brother.' Enjoy the show."

Raph fought against the chains that were holding him back, rage blurring his vision. If he ever got his hands on that guy….

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Mikey shuddered as the man left the room. What was going to happen to Leo? Was he going to be okay? He turned his attention to the window, wondering why Leo hadn't noticed them yet.

As if reading his mind, Donnie started talking. "That must be a one-way mirror. To Leo, it just looks like a mirror, but it's a window to us. See, the other side is covered with a very thin, reflective coating. It reflects some of the light, and lets the rest through the window. They keep the room with the mirror side brightly lit so that it reflects a lot of light, and they keep the other room dimly lit so that no light passes through from that side, giving the effect that one side is a mirror and the other is a window."

Mikey knew that Don started babbling about technical stuff when he was scared, and that only made Mikey more nervous. If Don was scared too, then Leo must really be in trouble.

"What makes you think we wanted to know that?" Raph asked gruffly. A heavy silence fell over the room as they watched their older brother through the "one-way mirror." Mikey jumped when he heard a door slide open. Only this time, the door was in Leo's room.

Mikey saw Leo look up as the same man entered his room. Leo's eyes were angry, full of hate. Obviously he had already become acquainted with the strange man. And from the looks of it, they hadn't hit it off.

"I have kept my promise, turtle. Here is a token of my sincerity." The man motioned behind him, and three of the ninjas who had attacked them in the sewers stepped forward, each carrying something. The ninjas dropped their loads on the ground in front of Leo, then turned and walked back out of the room. Leo wasn't looking at the floor—his eyes were still locked with those of the man. Mikey couldn't see what the ninjas had dropped, because the man was standing in the way. He tried to move so that he could see better, but the chains held him back.

The man stared at Leo for another moment before turning and stalking out of the room. Mikey was finally able to see what was on the floor. What he saw made his mouth drop open. There on the ground in front of Leo were Mikey, Don, and Raph's weapons, as well as their blood-soaked masks. They were making Leo believe his brothers were dead!

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Again, I'm sorry about the wait. I hope you like this chapter. I'll try to update again soon.


	10. Chapter 10

The turtles don't belong to me. Thanks to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, Merdeka21, hmw95, and Lady-of-the-Rings for your reviews. I write for you guys.

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Leo opened his eyes when the door slid open again. He had lost consciousness after his visit from the strange man, but had awoken a moment ago. He didn't pull his legs under him this time, but remained as he was. He stared fiercely at the man, trying to put all of his hate into one gaze. The man had threatened to kill his brothers, and Leo hated him for even mentioning hurting them.

"I have kept my promise, turtle. Here is a token of my sincerity." Fear gripped his heart when he heard the words. Had the man really murdered his brothers? Three ninjas stepped forward and dropped something on the ground, but Leo refused to look. He wouldn't give the man the satisfaction of seeing his distress.

The man just stared for a moment before leaving the room, the door closing behind him. Suddenly Leo gasped. The hated feeling of déjà vu that he had come to fear lately had washed over him abruptly. His eyes snapped to the ground in front of him and widened instantly.

It was just like in his dream. His brothers' weapons and masks were in piles on the floor, covered in blood. No…. "No!" he shouted to no one in particular. He tried to pull away from the wall and reach his brothers' things, but the chains held fast and pain shot through his body.

His mind was in rebellion. He could see nothing but the heaps of weapons and masks, hear nothing but his mind screaming at him that it wasn't true, feel nothing but the tearing of his heart. He tried to rationalize, _It's__ not true. He's lying. My brothers are alive. They're alive! _But even as he thought it he didn't believe it. His brothers were dead, and Leo had failed them.

He fell limp again, only held up by the shackles around his wrists. He closed his eyes and felt tears burning to be shed. For once, he didn't care. He let the hot tears slide down his face. _I let them down. They needed me, and I let them die. I should have defeated the ninjas. I should have done something…._

Leo lifted his head, staring for a moment at all that was left of his beloved brothers. Finally, he let go of the scream that had been growing within him rapidly. He forgot about all else, shut everything else out of his mind, focused only on the pain. And he screamed.

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Don watched in horror as Leo screamed. He thought they were dead. He thought he had failed them. He tried to shut out the painful cries, the utter heartbreak in his brother's voice too much for him to handle. But even after the screaming stopped and Leo hung limp against the wall, breathing heavily and sobbing, Don heard the echoes in his mind.

Don knew Leo loved them, and would never forgive himself if anything happened to them, but actually witnessing his brother's grief and shock was worse than he could ever have imagined. He peeked slowly at his other two brothers, judging their reactions. Raph looked angry, which Don had expected, but behind the anger was fear. Raph was scared by his brother's reaction. He hesitated before looking at Mikey. If Raph had taken it so hard, how would their youngest, most emotional brother handle it?

Mikey was staring at Leo as if entranced. His mouth hung open slightly, and shock was written all over his face. His eyes were wide and his brows furrowed. Don longed to give him a comforting word, but none came to him. He jumped when the door slid open.

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Raph hated the man. Hated him for capturing him and his brothers, hated him for separating them from Leo, hated him for telling Leo they were dead. He really, truly, and completely hated that man. But what confused him was the fear he felt as well. Fear usually wasn't his thing, but at that moment, as Leo's screams echoed through his mind, it threatened to consume him. He was scared for himself and his younger brothers, but most of all he was scared for Leo.

And when the man walked into the room, a smug look on his face, Raph lost it. He pulled on the chains, trying to get at the man who was torturing his brother. He snarled, growled, and grunted in his effort to get free. All he wanted to do was kill that man. All he wanted to do was make him suffer as Leo was suffering.

The man let out a short, harsh laugh. "Do not waste your effort, turtle. Those chains are not easily broken."

Raph was practically blinded in his rage. This man hurt his brother, made him believe they were dead, then had the nerve to waltz in and mock him? This guy was so going down.

"I strongly advise you stop. The consequences will be unpleasant," the man was more serious now, the mocking tone gone. He reached into his belt and pulled out a small remote. When Raph didn't stop struggling, the man grinned and placed his hand on one of the buttons. "I was hoping one of you would let me demonstrate my power. Observe," he said to Don and Mikey. He pressed the button. Raph screamed.

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Mikey watched in horror as yet another brother screamed and fell limp. This time, electricity coursed through the chains, then Raph's body, rendering him unconscious. Mikey looked to Donny for support, only to see his brother just as scared as he was. He looked at the man, wondering who he was and why he was doing this to them.

The man laughed cruelly again and replaced the remote in his belt. "Perhaps that will teach him I am not to be messed with. And you two would do well to learn that lesson as well. You will die, you may count on that, but, let's just say it doesn't have to be too messy. But it can be." The man turned and left the room, leaving behind an unconscious Raphael, an uncharacteristically angry Donatello, and a scared-out-of-his-shell Mikey.

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Sorry it was kinda short, but I'll try to update again soon. I'm not too sure I really like this chapter, but let me know what you think. Thanks for reading faithfully.


	11. Chapter 11

Turtles still no mine. Thanks to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, Merdeka21, hmw95, and Lady-of-the-Rings for your reviews. Enjoy!

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Leo was in pain. His head hurt from screaming and sobbing, his shoulders hurt from the constant strain of supporting his weight, his wrists hurt from the continual rubbing of the shackles, his chest throbbed from the crack in his plastron, and his numerous bruises and scrapes hurt. But worst of all was the emotional agony he had felt ever since the man's last visit. That pain was unbearable.

Leo thought of his brothers, each of whom he would never see again. He thought of Mikey and his goofy personality. He thought of his jokes, his pranks, and his love for video games and comic books. His heart throbbed as he remembered Mikey's contagious laugh and saw his endearing grin. Of all his brothers, Mikey was the only one who could turn Leo into a pushover. He was his baby brother, the one who made a joke out of the worst situation and was optimistic even in the most dire of circumstances. And he would never see his innocent, naïve, goofy face again.

He thought of Donny, the brains of the turtles. He thought of his soft spoken nature, his love of electronics and "gadgets", and his resourcefulness. He remembered all the hours he spent in his lab, working on his latest invention. He remembered how Don was the only one who really understood him, his responsibility as the doctor of the family giving him a little insight into the stress of Leo's position as leader. He remembered how the two of them could always talk to each other, late into the night, about whatever was on their minds. And he would never have that again.

And he though about Raph. The hothead. The rebel. The one who knew how to push his buttons and enjoyed pushing them. And the one, as much as Leo hated to admit it, he had the most in common with. Leo never thought he would miss their constant arguments, Raph challenging his authority, or running away on his own whenever he felt like it. But Leo and Raph had always had a special bond, ever since they were little, and his brother's absence left a large void in his soul.

Leo jumped when the door slid open but quickly composed himself. He looked up as the man walked in, followed by a large, bulky ninja.

"Hello, turtle. Did you miss me?" he laughed cruelly at Leo's hate-filled face. "I won't keep you waiting so long next time." He motioned to the big ninja, who immediately stepped toward Leo and backhanded him across the face.

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Don watched in anger as the ninja hit Leo. It was bad enough that he was torturing him mentally, but now he was adding to his pain physically? Don felt unfamiliar anger surge through him. He glanced over at Raph, who had still not awakened. He looked back to Leo quickly, not wanting to watch but unable to keep his eyes away from the scene.

"I'm glad your brothers cannot see you now," the man taunted. "They would be ashamed—you're too weak to even defend yourself." He seemed to be ignoring the fact that Leo was chained to the wall. He motioned to the ninja again, and watched as he pounded a fist into Leo's chest. The turtle coughed and gasped as blood began to seep out of the crack. The ninja punched him again, elongating the crack and increasing the blood flow. He hit him one more time before stepping back and looking to his master.

Donny seethed as the ninja beat his helpless brother. He longed to leap through the mirror and kick that man's butt, but one more quick glance toward the motionless Raphael changed his mind. He instantly looked at Mikey when he heard a strangled sob coming from his direction.

The youngest turtle was obviously fighting tears as he watched his brother through the one-way mirror. His face reflected the look of horror Don was sure was present on his. He tried to reach out to comfort his brother but was stopped by the chains. Instead, he said with all the conviction he could muster, "He'll be okay, Mikey. Leo's strong, he'll get through this."

Mikey's head whirled around toward him, as if he had forgotten he was there. For a moment, he just stared. Then, finally, he said, "I hope you're right, Donny. But he's always had something, or rather someone, to fight for. I hope he doesn't give up." Donny's heart sank as the implications of Mikey's statement sank in.

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Raph awoke slowly, aching all over. He remembered everything clearly, up until the shocks had racked his body for the second time and darkness had overcome him. He groaned and checked to make sure Don and Mikey were still in the room with him.

Donny was watching him anxiously, obviously checking to make sure he was alright. Mikey was sleeping awkwardly, still hanging from the chains. "Are you okay, Raph?" Don whispered.

"Yeah," he grunted. "You guys?"

"We're okay. You scared us, bro. You've been out for hours. Mikey finally fell asleep, but I wanted to make sure you were alright." Raph noticed that Don was avoiding eye contact. A thought suddenly hit him.

"Leo! How's Leo?" He strained to see through the window. Donny didn't answer, but Raph hadn't really expected him to. Leo was still hanging from the chains, but he seemed to be conscious. There was a lot more blood covering his plastron, and a dark bruise was growing on the side of his face. But he was alive and awake.

Raph lay back as exhaustion caused his vision to darken slightly. He glanced at Donny, who was already asleep. _Poor guy_, he thought. It was probably all he could do to stay awake to wait for him. He closed his eyes and soon joined his brothers in slumber.

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Mikey's dreams were haunted by images of a bleeding Leo, screaming and crying out for his brothers. He was being attacked on all sides by invisible enemies, and the crack in his plastron was steadily growing until even his shell was cracked in half. But he didn't stop to fight off his attackers; he seemed to think only of finding his missing brothers. He called for them as he sobbed and screamed, searching the darkness for their bodies. Mikey tried to wake up but stood entranced by the scene. He was so helpless to do anything for his leader, his brother, his hero; the one person who was always there for him when he needed comfort. Mikey stirred in his sleep as he tried to help Leo.

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Wow, this is turning out to be more angsty than I had planned. I didn't have too much of a plan for this chapter when I started out, so I hope it wasn't too rambly and pointless. I'll try to update again soon.


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, Merdeka21, hmw95, and Lady-of-the-Rings, 54Viruses, Julia-Catherine, and Paranoid Puppy for your reviews. I still don't own the turtles. Enjoy!

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Leo knew he had to get out. He had stayed here taking that man's crap for too long. He had a duty to his brothers, to avenge them and kill their murderer. He may have failed them once, but he refused to let them down again. He would bring honor to their memories and destroy their destroyer.

He had to escape soon—his strength was running out and he didn't know how much longer he could take the beatings and torture. Every breath sent pain shooting from his chest; the crack was now six inches long and any quick movements caused it to ooze blood. His arms had lost feeling hours ago and Leo only hoped he could use them long enough to finish his revenge. After that he didn't care what happened to him.

Leo stared at the large ninja who had become his almost constant companion since his capture. He felt blood dripping from his nose and tasted it draining down his throat. He watched warily for another blow, wondering what part of him wasn't already bruised. The ninja picked something up off the floor and raised it above his head. Leo looked to see what it was and was instantly filled with white-hot rage. The ninja was holding a Bo staff—_Donnie's_ Bo staff.

"How dare you touch that?" Leo screamed and lunged for the ninja. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the man reach into his pocket and pull something out, but he didn't care. He wanted to kill this guy who had the nerve to touch his brother's weapon. Suddenly, Leo felt electricity course through his body from the chains on his wrists. He fell limp as the dull pain all over his body intensified to searing pain. He fell back against the wall, gasping and writhing in pain.

When the electrocution stopped, he opened his eyes and saw the man laughing. "You pathetic reptile. I don't know why I waste my time." He nodded to the ninja. "Leave him a parting gift." The ninja again raised the staff over his head and brought it down across Leo's plastron, hard. Leo only had time to cry out before the staff was again brought down, this time on his head, and darkness engulfed him.

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Don shut his eyes as his own weapon, the extension of himself that had seen him through many dangers, was used against his own brother. He heard the cry of pain before it was cut short by another crack. They had been in the strange man's captivity for almost three days, and the stress of watching his brother suffer for so long was beginning to get to him. He tried to be strong for Raph and Mikey, especially Mikey, but he was beginning to lose it.

He heard Raph's growl of anger and glanced over at him. He jumped when his older brother slammed his fist into the wall behind him and let out a strangled yell.

"We have to do something! I can't stand watching this punk beat Leo up anymore. We have to get him out of here." Raph appeared close to tears as he looked at Donnie hopefully, pleadingly. Don realized with a sinking feeling that Raph expected him to have a plan. Plans were Leo's thing. Don was an engineer, not a strategist. He looked at Mikey who merely stared at the floor, frowning. Don was becoming disturbed by his little brother's behavior. Mikey hadn't smiled in days, and he wasn't being his usual, optimistic self. "Donnie, we gotta do somethin'."

"Um, Raph…. I…." Don was also looking at the floor now. He didn't know what to say. He had tried to come up with some way to help their brother, but he couldn't think of anything. He hated not having the answers, but he was truly at a loss as to what to do. But they couldn't just leave Leo to die a slow, painful death. Besides, after he was done with Leo, the man would move on to the three of them. Raph was right, they had to do something.

"Donnie?" Don's head snapped up when he heard Mikey's voice. The younger turtle was looking at Leo, who was unconscious. "He's gonna make it, right?"

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Raph stared at Mikey for a moment, shocked by his speech. He hadn't questioned whether or not Leo would make it—he had taken it for granted that he would get out of it somehow. He had been sure Donnie would come up with a plan and they would escape, kick butt, and rescue Leo. But if Mikey was losing hope….

"Of course he's gonna make it, Mikey. It's Leo. He won't go down this easy," even as Donnie spoke, Raph wasn't sure whether or not he believed himself. He was obviously trying to be brave for his brothers, but Raph knew Donnie. He was hurting just as much as they were.

"Yeah, I guess…." Mikey said. Raph ached for his baby brother. He knew Mikey looked up to Leo. Heck, he looked up to Leo. Leo was always there for them, watching their backs and helping them out of trouble. But Mikey and Leo… Raph knew they had a special bond. Mikey worshipped his oldest brother and Leo definitely had a soft spot for his baby brother.

Donnie and Leo were also good friends. Raph knew they understood each other as the two turtles who carried the most responsibility in the family. But Raph and Leo were close too. True, they fought all the time, and knew just how to make each other mad, but they really did love each other deep down. _Not too deep down,_ he thought as he looked at his brother. He had to get him out of there.

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Mikey continued to stare at Leo after Donnie had tried to reassure him. He wanted to believe what his brother had said, but he wasn't even convinced Don believed it. He had seen Leo beaten and on the brink of death before, but he hadn't had to watch him suffer. Leo may be going through agonizing torture, but so was Mikey. He hated seeing his hero helpless.

Mikey dropped his eyes to the ground and thought about the time Leo had come flying through the window at April's apartment, barely alive. At the time, it was the worst thing that had ever happened to them. But compared to this, that had been fun. Mikey closed his eyes and tried to sleep. It was the only way he could escape, but with the dreams he had been having lately it wasn't much of a relief. He sighed as he fell asleep, hoping his dreams would be more pleasant tonight.

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I don't really like this chapter, but the next one should be exciting. I hope. Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading faithfully.


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, Merdeka21, hmw95, and Lady-of-the-Rings, 54Viruses, Julia-Catherine, and Paranoid Puppy for your reviews. I still don't own the turtles. Enjoy!

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Days passed. We weren't really sure how many, but it was a lot. The man still taunted us and hurt Leo, who was steadily losing strength. I was scared—more scared than I've ever been in my life. I had never seen Leo this helpless, or at least not while he was being attacked. Raph, Don, and I didn't talk much. The silence hurt, but we couldn't bring ourselves to say anything. We just stared at our leader or away from him, whichever hurt less.

But luckily, Leo hadn't given up yet. He was dying, slowly, but he still tried to escape. When the man wasn't in his cell, he worked on breaking the chains. When he was, he took the torture calmly, biding his time. I had never been so proud of my brother or so scared for him.

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Leo pulled at the chain a little more, trying to widen the gap in the link. If he could just get it wide enough, he could break the chain and get his revenge. He stopped pulling for a moment to catch his breath. God, he hurt. There didn't seem to be a part of him that wasn't bruised or cut. But he _had_ to avenge his brothers. He began to put steady pressure on the breaking chain again, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes tightly.

Leo suddenly heard familiar footsteps outside his room and quit pulling, falling limp against the wall. The door slid open and the man stepped in, only this time he was alone. Leo continued to stare at the floor, hoping the man would leave. No such luck.

"I know you are awake, turtle. You can give up your charade," he taunted. Leo seethed from his place against the wall, looking forward to when he could get his hands on that guy. When he didn't answer, the man walked over and struck him across the face. "We're going to have fun today. I've kept you here long enough. It's about time you die!" Leo closed his eyes again. This was it. He had to get free somehow. "It's too bad your brothers aren't here to witness your heroic last moments."

Leo finally looked up at the man, all the agony he had gone through the last few days fighting its way to the surface. He watched as the man picked up one of Raph's sais from the ground. _Oh no, you don't. _As the man lifted the weapon to strike, Leo lunged at him. The blade caught him on the upper arm, leaving a deep gash seeping blood. He fell back against the wall and gasped. He saw the dagger coming at him again and tried to dodge the blow, but the chains inhibited his movement. The knife entered his side, between his shell and plastron, but the wound wasn't too deep.

Leo knew he had to think quickly. He had to get out of the chains. An idea suddenly struck him, and as the sai came back for a third hit, he scooted to the side, pulling one of the chains into its path. He closed his eyes and prayed that the dagger was stronger than the chain. It was. Leo heard the crunch of metal breaking and his eyes snapped open. He realized suddenly that his arm was no longer holding his weight—it was hanging by his bleeding side, the shackle still around his wrist and two inches of chain hanging down. Without thinking, he threw his free fist into the stunned man's face, knocking him off balance. He gave a yank on the weakened chain, which was still attached to the wall, and felt it break as well.

Leo was beyond pain as he leapt onto the man, ripping the sai from his grasp and putting against his throat. "Who are you? What do you want with me?" he yelled, seeing the man's unbelieving gaze.

"How—how did you…."

"Who are you!?" Leo screamed.

"My name is Timoto Kizake." The man seemed to have suddenly regained his composure. "And I want you to join your brothers in death."

Leo growled. This man was so dead…. "Why did you kill them? They never did anything to you," he ground out between clenched teeth. It was torture to even think about his lost brothers. He had failed them so miserably….

The man laughed shrilly, almost maniacally. "Never did anything to me?! You and your brothers ruined my life! You took from me the only person I ever loved."

Leo almost let go of the man in his surprise. He had never seen this man in his life before his capture, and he was certain his brothers hadn't either. "What are you talking about?"

"My wife, Selena. She was American. We lived here in New York together, and she died because of you bastards! You killed her!" The man, Kizake, was struggling now. "You killed her!"

Leo froze when he heard the name. Selena? Memories flooded him quickly, too quickly. The woman in the fire… he had tried to save her, but he was too late. She was already burned so badly, and had begged him to put her out of her misery. He had been reluctant, hoping he could still save her, but there was nothing that could be done. It was either let her die slowly and painfully, or kill her quickly then and there. Leo had hated himself for months, but had eventually pushed the painful memory to the back of his memory. She had said something before she died… "Tell him, Selena loves him…." But he had never known who "him" was. Had she been talking about this man, the man who had put him through so much agony?

"She asked me to kill her. It was that or let her die slowly and in much pain. Besides," he said, sobs choking his words, "my brothers had nothing to do with it. I was the one who killed her—my brothers weren't even on patrol with me that day."

The man's gaze darkened. "I knew the best way to hurt you was to hurt your brothers. I worked for years in Japan to train a clan of ninjas capable of defeating you and your pathetic brothers. You destroyed my world, so I destroyed yours." With a shout, Kizake pushed an unprepared Leo off of him and ran for the door. Leo lunged after him but only landed on the ground, hard.

Leo lay there for a moment, the last few minutes replaying over and over in his mind. The man had done all this to repay him for helping his wife. He had destroyed his family because a fire had destroyed his. It hadn't been Leo's fault…. Leo tried to push his desire for revenge away. Didn't that make him just like the man? But no, that was different. Leo had been trying to help; this man had been purposefully hurting him and his brothers. Leo pulled himself off the ground, not knowing where he got the strength, and ran out of the room after the man. He would kill him, not for himself but for his brothers.

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Sorry for the long wait, I was out of town for a while. I didn't write about the others because just Leo's section turned out to be so long, but the next chapter will be all about them and their reactions to this chapter. I hope you like this chapter—the story is coming to a close soon. I'm not really sure how many more chapters there will be, but it won't be too many. I hope some questions were answered—let me know if there are any other questions you want me to make sure I answer in future chapters. Thanks for reading faithfully.


	14. Chapter 14

Thanks to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, Merdeka21, hmw95, and Lady-of-the-Rings, 54Viruses, Julia-Catherine, and Paranoid Puppy for your reviews. I write for you guys. I still don't own the turtles (but I do own Kizake )). Enjoy!

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Donatello stared hard at the mirror, trying to take in everything that had happened in the last few moments. Leo was free! But the man, Timoto Kizake, was still trying to kill him. And what was he saying about Leo killing his wife? Leo didn't kill people!

Don looked at his brothers, trying to read their reactions. They both looked as shocked and confused as he felt. He unconsciously began to pull at his chains, wanting to help his oldest brother. He looked at the door, willing it to open to reveal Leo standing there, alive and well and coming to rescue them. But a thought suddenly struck him that made him feel sick to his stomach. Leo thought they were dead. He wouldn't come looking for them…. 

Don strained to hear any noises coming from the hallway. He had no idea where Kizake and Leo had gone once they left the room. He hadn't heard anyone run by outside their door, but he hadn't exactly been listening at the time. They could be anywhere in the building by now… which brought him to another question. Where were they? What kind of building was this, and how big was it, and were they even still in New York? If they did get free, how would they go about escaping? Would they ever find Leo? Would Leo even try to escape the building if he thought his brothers were dead? Donny hated not having the answers!

Don hated it even more a moment later when Mikey's timid voice asked, "Uh, Donny? What now?"

He cleared his throat, looking at the floor. "Well, I… Um, that is…. I don't know." Don truly had no idea. There was no way for them to get free, and unless by some miracle someone let them go they would be stuck here forever. He chanced a glance at Mikey who was looking dejectedly at the floor. Donny felt awful, and more helpless than he ever had in his whole life. Leo was still in danger, but now they had no idea what was happening. True, it had been torture to watch him suffer so much, but at least they had known he was alive. Now…. 

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Raphael was getting angrier with every passing second. He felt so darn helpless and even Donny didn't know what to do. He wasn't really sure what had happened in Leo's cell, but he did know that Leo was free and being accused of murder. Leo, a murderer? He may be a lot of things, but Leo was NOT a murderer. Finally, Raph couldn't take it anymore. "What's goin' on? What's that guy talkin' about? And where the SHELL is Leo?"

Both Don and Mikey jumped when Raph started shouting, but he didn't care. He didn't expect any answers, but he had to vent his frustration somehow. Donny continues to stare ahead miserably, and Mikey looked completely and utterly lost. Exactly how Raph felt. Raph pulled on the chains desperately, almost expecting and half wishing for electricity to flow through them and end his efforts. But none came, and Raph sighed. He felt so helpless, a feeling that Raph hated more than anything. He wanted—no, needed—to do something, anything, to help his brothers. 

Raph finally gave up struggling and instead banged his head against the wall behind him, hard. It hurt, but again Raph didn't care. He hit the wall again. And again. He stopped only when he heard Don's voice, quiet and defeated, coming from beside him. "You know, Raph, that doesn't accomplish anything except giving you a concussion," the brainy turtle said. Raph sighed in frustration but stopped anyway.

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Mikey was lost. Donny didn't have the answers, and Raph was attempting to beat himself unconscious on the wall. The scary thing was Mikey almost felt like doing it himself. He had no idea where Leo was, or if he was even alive. That Kizake guy had seemed really mad…. And what did he mean about Leo killing his wife. Leo would never hurt anyone, ever. Not on purpose, anyway. 

Mikey knew he needed his oldest brother. What would they do without him? He was always there to protect them, and listen to them, and make them train, and… well, he was always there for them. He was so selfless; he cared more about their safety than his own. Sure, Mikey resented him sometimes, and wished he would leave him alone, but the truth was he would do anything for his big brother. He would be lost without Leo.

Mikey looked at his other brothers, knowing they were going through the same things. He needed them too, but there was something about that oldest brother that none of them could do without. He looked back at the floor, willing Leo to live and come rescue them. But, Mikey thought with a sinking heart, he thought they were dead. Unless something happened soon, he wouldn't be looking for them. That must have been why Donny looked so miserable and had avoided answering his question. If Leo didn't find them, they would be stuck there forever!

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Okay, this chapter was mainly to focus on the other guys' feelings, but the next chapter will be about Leo and Kizake and their showdown. I can't wait to write it—it'll be so much fun. I hope it's fun to read too. Anyway, please let me know what you think and I'll try to update soon. Thanks again for reading so faithfully.


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, Merdeka21, hmw95, and Lady-of-the-Rings, 54Viruses, Julia-Catherine, Paranoid Puppy, and Katiesmeghead for your reviews. I write for you guys. I still don't own the turtles (but I do own Kizake )). Enjoy! 

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Leo ran after Kizake, holding his chest and wheezing. The pain was catching up with him, but he didn't care. This man had taken everything from him, and he was going to make him pay. Leo tried to keep his mind off of his brothers, knowing that if he thought of them he would break down and be unable to continue. After he had killed this man, then he could think about his brothers. 

Leo still hadn't seen Kizake, but he knew he was headed in the right direction. He could tell that the man wanted him to follow based on the number of signs left; any man who could train an army of ninjas could at least run down a hallway without turning over everything in his way. But again, he didn't care. He wanted to find Kizake, and Kizake wanted to be found. So it worked out well for both of them. Leo would catch up to him, defeat him, destroy his base and his whole ninja army, and them after that he didn't care. He seemed to be doing a lot of not caring recently. 

Leo skidded to a stop at a split in the hallway, wondering which way to go. But a quick glance down one of the new passageways told him immediately which one Kizake had taken. A loud crash up ahead also indicated that he was catching up. He took off again immediately, absently reaching for his swords before remembering they had been taken from him. Well, that was one more reason to be mad at this guy. As if he needed another reason….

Leo rounded a corner quickly and came face-to-face with the man and ten of his ninjas. Normally ten inexperienced ninjas would be nothing but a slight nuisance to Leo, but normally he had his swords and was able to move without sending pain shooting through his whole body. Now, however, Leo was dreading fighting the ninjas. He let out a hoarse cry and leapt at the closest ninja, prepared to kill with his bare hands. But Kizake stepped in the way, blocking him easily.

"No, turtle. Your fight is with me; it seems we both have scores to settle with each other. They are here only to guard against treachery," the man said, all of his old calm collectedness back in place. 

_And who's going to watch my back?_ he thought bitterly. _You took away my back-up. _But he only grunted and took a step back, preparing for a fight. Kizake also got ready, pulling out a katana from under his coat. Indignation quickly filled Leo. "You have no honor! Bearing a weapon against an unarmed warrior?" 

"Look behind you, turtle." Leo turned his head warily, not trusting the man for one moment. Behind him stood one of Kizake's ninjas, holding one of Leo's katanas in his hands and offering it to him. It was only one, but it leveled the playing field. Leo had trained with only one sword as much as with two. He took the katana without taking a second glance at the ninja and turned back to fully face Kizake. The two raised their swords to a battle-ready stance and began to circle each other. 

Leo noticed with satisfaction that as his training kicked in and he became focused, the pain faded to the back of his mind. That was one less distraction for now. He waited for Kizake to make the first move. When the man raised his sword over his head to strike, Leo prepared to block the blow. The katanas connected with a flare of sparks. The two ninjas backed away, preparing to meet again. This time, Leo couldn't wait. He leapt into the air, aiming a kick for Kizake's chest while at the same time meeting his sword with his own. Kizake saw the move coming and sidestepped it, blocking the katana. Leo landed and paused for only a second to catch his breath before whirling around and striking again. Kizake ducked under Leo's blow and swiped at his feet with his own sword; Leo jumped over the weapon and landed a few feet back, breathing harder.

Kizake lunged at Leo, aiming his sword for his head. Leo only had enough time to block the blow before another one came. And another. Leo was losing ground quickly; it he didn't do something soon he could lose to the man. Losing wasn't an option—not when he had to avenge his brothers. He kicked out at Kizake's feet, but the man was too fast. He leapt over the kick while at the same time bringing his sword down to meet Leo's—hard. The force of the blow combined with Leo's already precarious balance caused the injured turtle to fall backward into the wall. Dazed, he struggled to his feet, only to be met with a swift kick to his chest.

Leo flew backward, again hitting the wall. He coughed, spewing blood all over his already bleeding plastron. He gasped for breath and clutched at his chest; all the pain had been revived with that one blow. He looked up to see Kizake standing over him, holding his sword above his head. 

"You're pathetic, turtle. You cannot even defeat me in a fair fight. I gave you back your weapon and met you on equal ground and you still cannot even put up a fight. Aren't you glad your brothers aren't here to see you now? They would be so ashamed…." Leo had heard enough. With more speed than he ever thought possible he had kicked Kizake in the stomach, sending him flying backward, and had landed on top of him, his sword at his throat.

"Don't you _ever_ speak of my brothers again, you bastard," he hissed menacingly. "_Fair_ fight? How is torturing someone for days before giving them a weapon and fighting them _fair_? You know nothing of fairness, or honor, or humanity!" Leo's voice was rising now. "You rip my brothers away from me and then mock the pain you caused…. You have no heart! You're a monster—I don't believe you ever really loved your wife. You have no capacity to love!" Leo lifted his sword above his head and plunged it through the man's chest, barely to the left of his heart. 

In the split second before Leo was roughly pulled off of Kizake and pinned to the ground by the surrounding ninjas, he saw the immense pain on the man's face—not the physical pain that was written on the man's face, but the emotional agony deep in his eyes. Leo almost regretted his speech… almost. Now he merely gave in to the hands holding him to the ground, not caring about the many katanas held to his throat and chest. This man was dying, and Leo had avenged his brothers. Now he could join them….

"Let him go." Kizake's words nearly caused Leo to stop his labored breathing. Had he just told his ninjas to _let him go_! He felt the hands falter before lifting away from his bruised and broken body, slowly and cautiously. The ninjas lowered their swords and backed away, leaving him lying on his shell on the ground, wheezing and bleeding. He looked at the man who had almost killed him and then let him go; Kizake was sitting up, slowly, painfully. "You are right, Leonardo. I have lost my humanity." He seemed regretful, sorrowful. Leo could hardly believe his ears. "But if you say that I did not love my wife, you could not be farther from the truth. She was my world, my life. She was all I had, and she was taken from me. I knew it was not your fault, truly… the paramedics told me she would not have survived the burns even had you not stabbed her…. But, when I lost her, I lost myself. I wanted nothing more than to avenge her, to take out my pain on something, someone…. And the only one I could think of was you. I truly did become a monster…." Kizake was wheezing now, his short, raspy breaths contrasting with Leo's long, labored ones. 

"Wha… what are you saying?" The man looked at him with tears in his eyes. 

"You have saved me, Leonardo. I tortured you and took everything away from you, and you saved me. Your love for your brothers, you undying loyalty…. They reminded me of what I once felt for my wife, before I was so overcome with hate and vengeance." The man stopped speaking and coughed, causing blood to drip down his chin. Leo dragged himself over to the man, all thoughts and wishes for vengeance draining away. Kizake was now leaning against the wall for support, and Leo could tell that he didn't have long to live. 

"I'm sorry…. I also became absorbed in revenge. I thought I had failed my brothers, that the only way to redeem myself was to kill you. I forgot that you suffered the same loss I did."

"No," Kizake rasped with obvious effort. "Your brothers… are not dead… I lied to you… they are here, alive…." Leo was stunned. His brothers, alive? Was it possible? 

"Where! Are they harmed? Where are they?" 

"They are… fine…." Leo could tell the man was fading quickly. All he wanted to do was find out where his brothers were and go to them, but he knew he could not leave Kizake now. He had something he had to tell him.

"Kizake, your wife… before she died… she asked me to tell you that… that she loved you," Leo croaked. Kizake smiled and closed his eyes.

"Thank you, Leonardo. I can rest now…." Kizake fell limp and Leo laid him on the floor before turning to the ninjas who were watching, stunned.

"Take me to my brothers."

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Okay, so Leo turned out to be a little dark in this chapter, but I think that's how he would be if he lost his brothers. I'm sorry if you hate me for making Kizake out to not be so bad, but I've always had a soft spot for bad guys who are really good, just have had bad things happen to them. Sorry if you hate that…. Anyway, again Leo's section turned out to be so long that the other guys'll have to be next chapter (actually Leo probably will be in the next chapter too )). Anyway, please let me know what you think. Thanks for reading faithfully.


	16. Chapter 16

Thanks to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, Merdeka21, hmw95, and Lady-of-the-Rings, 54Viruses, Julia-Catherine, Paranoid Puppy, Katiesmeghead, and winged-monkey for your reviews. I write for you guys. I still don't own the turtles (but I do own Kizake )) Enjoy! 

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Leonardo limped back down the hallway, following the ninjas as quickly as he could. He could feel the hate and resentment coming off of them in waves as they grudgingly obeyed their dead master's wishes. He tried to process everything that had happened in the last hour, remembering his initial struggle with Kizake, chasing him through the dark hallways, their final duel, Kizake's death, and the news that his brothers were, in fact, alive. That was the hardest part for him to comprehend. After days of despair and grieving, agony and guilt, pain and sorrow, he had been told that his life had not been ripped away from him. 

He noticed with slight shock that they were nearing his own cell door. Just before they reached it, however, the ninjas stopped before another door and one of them placed a keycard into an electronic lock, causing the door to slide open slowly. 

Time stood still for Leo as the door opened, revealing a small, darkened room. Three figures stood in various spots around the cell, hanging by chains from the ceiling, much as he had before escaping. His ragged breath caught in his throat when he realized that these were his brothers, staring at him in surprise and relief.

"L-Leo?" one of them whispered. _Mikey_, Leo's mind absently registered. It was true… they were alive! A choked sob escaped from his throat and he fell to his knees, shaking uncontrollably and trying to steady his strained breaths. He felt dangerously close to tears, but still none came. His brothers were alive… they were alive… they were alive….

Finally Leo pushed himself up and drew his lone katana, lunging at his youngest brother with a strangled cry. He lifted the sword and swiftly cut the chains holding Mikey captive. Without pausing he did the same for his other brothers, letting out all the anger and frustration he felt at their captivity. They seemed unharmed, but still…. As soon as Leo had cut Donny free, he fell forward into his intelligent brother's plastron, the tears finally finding their way to the surface.

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Donatello stood there, holding his oldest brother's shaking frame, unsure of what had happened for the hundredth time since their capture. He was really getting tired of not having the answers…. He rubbed Leo's shell, not even trying to imagine what he was going through at that moment. He had thought they were dead for so long. Don had no idea how he had found out they were alive, but he didn't care at the moment. All that mattered was that Leo was here, alive.

Don noticed grimly that Leo's plastron was warm and sticky against his own. He had obviously aggravated the crack again since leaving his cell. His arm and side were also still bleeding heavily from the wounds from Raph's sais. Don looked at his other brothers, who were looking at the ground. Mikey looked like he was in pain, as if seeing Leo in such a state physically hurt him. Raph, for once, didn't look angry. Instead he seemed subdued, as he did only in the gravest of circumstances.

Leo finally pulled away from Donny and turned to his other brothers. He fell into Raph, sobbing into his shoulder as well. Raph looked surprised for only a second before wrapping his arms around his brother and whispering soothingly in his ear. Don noticed a lone tear trickle down his cheek and he hugged their oldest brother tighter. Leo eventually broke their embrace before finally turning to Mikey and burying his head in his shoulder. Mikey gratefully shrank into the embrace, sobbing into Leo's shoulder in turn. 

After what seemed an eternity Leo finally stopped sobbing and quietly gasped for air, although he didn't stop shaking. Don watched as his knees buckled and he sank to floor, still clinging to Mikey.

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Raphael stared wide-eyed as his only older brother collapsed and Mikey lowered him gently to the floor. He had forgotten about Leo's injuries in the emotion of the moment. He attempted to swallow the lump in his throat but to no avail. He vaguely noticed Don kneeling down next to Leo, taking in the extent of his injuries, and Mikey stroking his head, clinging tightly to his hand and rocking back and forth. Raph willed himself to move and was finally able to make his slow way over to his brothers. He sat down next to Don and stared intently at Leo's face.

"Is he gonna be okay, Donny?" he asked hesitantly.

"He's gotta be okay!" Mikey said. He had tears streaming down his face and his gaze was locked on Leo's face. "You've gotta make 'im better, Donny. You gotta….

"I'll do everything I can, Mikey. He'll be okay." Raph looked to Don for reassurance that he wasn't just saying that to appease Mikey and was pleased to see a determined, hopeful look on his younger brother's face. He would be okay…. "For now we've got to stop the bleeding and then try to get him home without causing any more damage. I'm going to need your elbow pads…. Raph was glad to see that even in such a stressful situation Donny was able to keep some semblance of rationality. He quickly stripped off his pads and placed them in Don's outstretched hand. Leo was gonna make it—they were all gonna make it. They were going home….

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Mikey clung to his big brother's hand like a lifeline even as he pulled off his elbow pads and handed them to Donny. He had come too close to losing Leo… again. He needed him so badly—he didn't know what he'd do if Leo died. He was his hero, his idol… Mikey looked up to Leo like no one else, not even Master Splinter. He tightened his hold on Leo's hand, willing him to get better.

Mikey looked up at Donny, reluctant to take his eyes off Leo. But he had to know he would be okay. Mikey could have fallen over from relief when he saw the hope and conviction in Don's eyes. Leo would make it… they would all be returning home….

What seemed like an eternity later Don broke the heavy silence. "Okay, I think it's safe to move him now. Raph, help me carry him. Mikey, I want you to stay next to his head—talk to him if he wakes up and let him know everything is okay." Mikey nodded, knowing Don had given him that job just as much for him as for Leo. He never once let go of Leo's hand as they made their slow way out of the room.

"Wait a minute! Where the shell are we, anyway? How do we get home? We can't just carry 'im the whole way," Raph said, stopping suddenly.

"I… I hadn't thought of that," Don replied. Mikey suddenly felt all the hope draining from him. For all they knew, they weren't even in New York City anymore….

"I beg your pardon, sirs, but I do believe I can help you," a strange voice interrupted Mikey's thoughts. The turtles heads all whirled around to see one of Kizake's ninjas standing there, head bowed. "I understand if you do not wish to trust me, but my late master seemed to want to help you, and so will I."

Mikey could tell Raph was about to say something rude before Leo's strained voice stopped him. Al three green heads again whirled around, trying to hear their fallen leader. Leo spoke again, "You can… trus' 'im…. He on… only wan's to hel'. Leo's voice was slurred and weak, but his message came across clearly. Mikey looked at the ninja and nodded. If Leo trusted him, so did he. They would accept this guy's help if it was what Leo wanted.

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Finally, the reunion!! The story's almost done, but don't worry, I'm not gonna stop writing. I love it too much. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. I'll try to update again soon. Thanks for reading faithfully.


	17. Chapter 17

Thanks to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, Merdeka21, hmw95, and Lady-of-the-Rings, 54Viruses, Julia-Catherine, Paranoid Puppy, Katiesmeghead, and winged-monkey for your reviews. I write for you guys. I still don't own the turtles (but I do own Kizake =)). 

There won't be anything from Leo's perspective in this chapter, since he's kind of out of it. Besides, it gives the other guys a chance to catch up. =P Enjoy! 

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Don helped lift the unconscious Leo into the back of the van the ninja had given them. They were in fact still in New York City, only a few miles away from the Shredder's old base. _Imagine Master Splinter's reaction when he finds out we were only a half hour away the whole time, _he thought wryly. Maybe they could skip that little detail…. 

Don placed Leo on the floor of the van trying not to aggravate any of his injuries. None of his wounds themselves were life-threatening—the only thing that worried him was the blood loss. But he had managed to bring that under control, and as soon as they got back to the lair and stitched him up, he should be fine in a week or so. But what really concerned Don were Leo's emotional wounds. Leo was a notoriously quick healer physically, but when it came to his emotions he took forever to heal. Don knew most of that was because Leo kept his feeling bottled up inside him, but he hoped that this time he would be willing to talk.

Don shuddered as he thought about what all Leo had been through. Believing his brothers were dead…. Don couldn't even begin to imagine the pain. If Don had lost his whole family, he knew he never would have been able to go on. And all Leo ever thought about was protecting his brothers. He would blame himself for everything, that much Don could guarantee. But they would quickly take that thought out of his mind. Don shook his head and focused on healing Leo's physical wounds. They would deal with his emotions when he awoke.

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Raph drove the van through the empty New York streets, avoiding the heavily trafficked areas. He glanced back occasionally to check on Leo, but mainly focused on getting them home as quickly as possible. His thoughts floated back to the ninja who had helped them. He had said that Kizake wanted to help them…. Oh well, they'd get answers from Leo later. The ninja hadn't given them a name or even let them say thank you. He had just shown them the van, told them where they were, and disappeared. 

Raph pulled the van carefully but quickly into a familiar alley and brought it to a stop. They would enter the sewers here and carry Leo to the lair where Donny could better treat his wounds. Then when Leo woke up they could talk. Raph was dying to talk to Leo about all that had happened. He wanted to know what had happened between Leo's escape and the rescue, and how he had known to look for them. Had he had another freaky dream, or one of his feelings, or had the ninja helped him…? Raph had no idea, and he hated having no idea. He couldn't wait for some answers…. But more than that Raph just wanted to hear his big brother tell him everything was okay. That he would make it, and that they would never be separated like that again. He wanted to hear him be strong, Fearless Leader again. 

Raph sighed and jumped out of the van, heading toward the back to help Don carry Leo to the manhole cover. Mikey ran to open it, heading down the ladder to help get Leo down. After several long, uncomfortable minutes, they had Leo down in the sewer tunnel and were finally heading home.

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Mikey ran ahead of his brothers and punched the code into the lair door, happier than he had ever been to be home. As soon as the door had slid open enough he squeezed through and ran inside, shouting for Master Splinter. "Master Splinter! We're okay… we're alive! We're home!" Mikey paused and listened for any answer. For one agonizing second Mikey thought there was no one there. Then he heard the best sound he'd ever heard.

"Michelangelo? Is that you?" Master Splinter sounded older and more worn, but Mikey didn't care at the moment. He was home, and his father was there waiting for him.

"Master Splinter!" Mikey ran to the old rat and threw his arms around his neck, hugging him like he hadn't since he was a child. 

"My son… my son… my son," Master Splinter said over and over, stroking the back of Mikey's head. "You are alive. Tell me, where are your brothers?"

Mikey looked up at his father, saying, "They're right behind me with Leo…." Mikey's joy faded somewhat when he thought of his oldest brother. "He's hurt pretty bad, Master Splinter."

The rat looked anxious, but managed to remain calm. "And the others? Raphael? Donatello?"

"They're fine… I guess. I mean, we're all shook up pretty bad but we're okay…." Mikey's voice trailed off when Don and Raph came through the door, carrying Leo between them.

"Master Splinter!" Don and Raph cried together. 

"My sons! I thought I would never see you again. What has happened? Is your brother all right?"

"He'll be okay, Master. I've just got to stop the bleeding and stitch him up, but he'll be fine."

"Thank god," Master Splinter breathed. "And you, my sons? Are your spirits alright?"

Mikey looked at the floor. "Uh… we can talk about that later." Splinter looked at him, an understanding look in his eyes. 

"Let us take care of your brother, then we shall speak of what has passed."

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Okay, this was just sort of a filler chapter, but there'll be lots of answers in the next one (don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the dreams). Let me know what you think. I'm guessing only one more chapter, maybe two. It's kind of sad to see it ending, but I'll definitely keep writing about the turtles. Anyway, thanks for reading so faithfully.


	18. Chapter 18

Thanks to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, Merdeka21, hmw95, and Lady-of-the-Rings, 54Viruses, Julia-Catherine, Paranoid Puppy, Katiesmeghead, and winged-monkey for your reviews. I write for you guys. I still don't own the turtles (but I do own Kizake =)). 

This chapter's going to be a little different. There'll be some of Leo's perspective in between the other guys'. I hope it's not to confusing. Enjoy!

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That night was a long one. My sons had finally been returned to me, alive. I could not have asked for more. Donatello took care of Leonardo, tending to his injuries and making him comfortable. I then had a talk with my sons. We took the first steps toward healing their wounded spirits. I dreaded seeing how much damage had been done to Leonardo's—the path toward healing his spirit had always been a long one. 

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_Leonardo was alone, completely alone. His brothers bodies littered the floor in front of him, bleeding and broken. He was chained to a wall, and someone was hitting him. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't take his eyes off of his dead brothers…._

"Leo? Leo!" Leo moaned and opened his eyes, squinting at the bright light. "Leo, are you okay?" It was Mikey. Leo smiled. 

"Yeah, Mike. I just had a bad dream."

"Do you want me to get Donny?" Mikey asked him.

"No, that's okay. Let him sleep. What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep. I came downstairs to get a drink and heard you moanin' an' stuff, so I came to check on you. I thought I should prob'ly wake you up…."

"Yeah, thanks Mikey. I'm glad you did," Leo said. He had gotten over the initial shock of finding his brothers alive after so long of believing they were dead, but the dreams still plagued him. _At least they aren't omens of what's yet to come,_ he thought wryly. But still, they were no fun. "You should probably go back to bed now. I'll be fine."

"Well, okay. Are you sure?" Mikey sounded reluctant to leave him along after his dream.

"Yeah, Mikey. You should get some sleep." Mikey turned and left, turning off the light. "Hey Mikey?"

"Yeah, bro?"

"I really missed you… a lot."

"I missed you too bro. Now get some sleep." Leo closed his eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.

Leo awoke to the sounds of activity around the lair. He heard Mikey in the kitchen making breakfast, and Donny moving around the lab, and Raph working out with his punching bag in the dojo. He smelled Master Splinter's tea brewing and eggs and sausage being fried. He kept his eyes closed and just enjoyed the sounds and smells. This was home. His brothers were alive, and they were all safe at home. He had missed these simple things for so long—he had thought he would never experience them again. 

He finally opened his eyes to see Donny standing over him, checking his vitals. "You're awake!" the brainy turtle said. "That's a good sign—Mikey said you were up for a little while last night too." Leo nodded, still half-asleep. "Good, you should be up and around for a few days. But no training for at least two weeks." Donny's voice grew stern with the last of his speech. 

Leo smiled. "You have no idea how much I missed hearing you say that," he said.

Don stopped what he was doing and looked at Leo, smiling. "Does that mean you're actually gonna listen this time?"

"Not a chance," Leo joked. In truth, he didn't know if he would follow Don's orders or not. Part of him longed to train to become stronger so that he wouldn't fail his brothers again, but another part of him just wanted to make his brothers happy. Maybe he would wait a weed and a half…. Don looked at him, an annoyed look on his face. But Leo didn't miss the sparkle of amusement in his eyes. 

"Yeah, well, we'll just see about that. I've got everyone else on my side this time. Hey, listen. Master Splinter wanted to talk to you when you woke up. Do you feel up to that?" Leo nodded, his smile fading. He knew exactly what Splinter wanted to talk to him about, and he wasn't looking forward to it. But it might as well be now as later.

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Don walked out of the lab smiling. At least Leo was acting like his old self… But Don knew it was probably just that—an act. He could tell that Leo was struggling with guilt and self-loathing, just like he did every time any of them were in danger. He had been the one who got hurt, and he was still acting like he had failed them. He was glad Leo had agreed to talk to Master Splinter. The sooner he got over his guilt the sooner things could be back to normal.

He nodded to his sensei, letting him know Leo was awake and waiting for him, then sat down at the table next to his other brothers. As soon as the door to the lab closed Raph and Mikey were across the lair, their ears plastered to the door. Donny rolled his eyes at them but couldn't resist following as well. 

"My son, are you feeling well?" Master Splinter was asking.

"As much as can be expected. I'm fine," Leo answered.

"And your spirit?"

Donny heard Leo sigh and shift uncomfortably on the bed. "Uh… I'm fine," Leo repeated.

"I sense great unrest with you, Leonardo. You must express you feeling if you are to truly heal."

Leo sighed again. "Okay, but first will you make Raph, Mikey and Don stop listening at the door?" Don quickly slinked off, thinking to himself, _It's scary how well Leo know us._

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Leo smiled a little as he heard his brothers scramble away from the door to the lab. He knew from experience that it was hard to have a private conversation anywhere in the lair if his brothers were at home. Even Donny was known to eavesdrop every once in a while….

Leo's thoughts were interrupted by Splinter's voice. "Now that we are alone, my son, tell me what it is that is bothering you."

Leo looked away, reluctant to answer. "I… I just—I feel responsible for everything that happened. If I had only fought harder, and protected them better… or escaped sooner and found them…."

"Leonardo." Leo turned to face his sensei when he heard the sharp tone in his voice. "You must stop always blaming yourself for other people's actions. You had no control over what Kizake did—yes, your brothers told me everything that happened. You are not at fault for any of it. You must see that."

Leo again looked away. "I know it's not technically my fault, but I still feel like if I had done something differently…."

"My son, it is because of you that your brothers ever were freed at all. I searched for you for days but finally had to give up…. Your brothers would have been trapped there until they died if not for your bravery and resourcefulness. I know you will come to see this in time. For now let us speak of other things. Your brothers and I are unaware of what happened between your escape and the rescue."

Leo told the story of his duel with Kizake, and finding out about his brothers. "After that I don't really know what happened. I went to find them, and I guess I did. The next thing I knew I was here."

"I see. Your brothers also told me of the dreams you had been having. What were they like?"

"Well, it was weird. They were so real, like visions. And they always came true, exactly like in the dream. And sometimes they would… sometimes I would see them even when I was awake." Leo looked at his master as he nodded his head as if a suspicion had been confirmed.

"It is as I thought. The same thing happened once to my Master Yoshi while he was training with the Ancient One. His master was in mortal danger and the dream was a warning for him, a message on the spiritual level. I am not sure why they come or where they come from, but it is not unheard of."

"Do you think I'll keep having them, or will they go away?" Leo hoped with all his heart that they would go away. They hadn't exactly been pleasant….

"I do not know, my son. For Master Yoshi, it only happened once. For others, they come whenever someone they love is in danger. You may never have one of these dreams again, or you may have them occasionally for the rest of your life." Leo nodded, and then yawned. "I see you are tired. You may get some sleep now. I shall have a talk with your brothers." Leo was asleep almost before Splinter left the room, closing the door behind him.

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"Leo thinks it's his fault?!" Raph shouted. "That's insane!" Master Splinter had just finished telling them about his conversation with Leo, and Raph was furious. "Did you tell him how stupid that is?"

"Not in those exact words, but I did tell him is not to blame." 

"Good," Raph grumbled. Leo had been through enough without taking all the blame for something he didn't have any control over. 

"So he'll be normal again soon?" Mikey asked.

"Since when is Leo normal?" Raph retorted. He smiled at the glare Mikey sent his way.

"I _meant…_ normal for Leo."

Splinter chuckled. "Yes, with our _support_," he said, looking pointedly at Raph who smirked in return, "your brother will be 'normal' soon." Mikey smiled his big smile and Raph couldn't help but feel relieved at the news. There was nothing worse than a moody Leo. Raph sighed and stood up. 

"Well, I'm ready for lunch."

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After eating a quick lunch, Mikey sneaked off to the lab to see if Leo was awake. He hadn't really had an opportunity to talk to him alone since everything that had happened, and he wanted to spend some time with him. He opened the door and walked over to his brother's bed. Leo's eyes were closed and his breathing was slow but even. Mikey sighed in disappointment and turned to leave, but stopped when he felt Leo's hand grab his.

"Stay, Mikey." Mikey gladly obeyed his brother's request, sitting on the chair next to Leo's bed. "Did you need something?"

"No, I just wanted to…." What had Mikey wanted to do? Talk to him? Just make sure he was alive? Mikey didn't really know. "I just wanted to say hi," he finished lamely.

Leo smiled. "Hi." 

"Um, Leo?"

"M-hm?" 

"I understand if you don't wanna talk about it, but… what was it like—ya know, thinking we were dead an' all?" When Leo didn't answer right away, Mikey shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Look, I'm sorry, Leo. I didn't mean to…."

"No, it's okay Mikey. I need to talk about it." Leo looked him in the eyes, a serious expression on his face. "It was like my heart had been ripped out and I was still alive. Like… like a piece of me was mission. Three pieces, actually. It was hell."

"Oh." Mikey was almost sorry he had asked. He couldn't imagine losing all three of his brothers like that. 

"Mikey?"

"Yeah?"

"Talk to me. Tell me about your comic books, or video games, or something… just talk to me. God, I missed hearing you talk." Mikey looked at his oldest brother, the horror of what he had been through beginning to sink in.

"Yeah, okay."

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The next chapter will be the last one. I hope you all liked this one. I already have an idea for my next TMNT fic and I'm really excited about. Anyway, let me know what you think. Thanks for reading faithfully.


	19. Chapter 19

Well, here's the last chapter. I hope it's enjoyable. I'm really sorry about the typos in the last few chapters (yes, by weed I meant week). I'll double check this one just in case. Thanks to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, Merdeka21, hmw95, and Lady-of-the-Rings, 54Viruses, Julia-Catherine, Paranoid Puppy, Katiesmeghead, and winged-monkey for your reviews. They really meant a lot writing this story, and I hope to hear more from you in the future. Thanks so much. I still don't own the turtles (but I do own Kizake =)).

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It wasn't long until I was up-and-about, and definitely less that two weeks before I started practicing in secret. Of course, Donny found out when I pulled out the stitches in my chest—and boy was he mad! Raph may be the angry turtle, but at least he's consistently angry. You never get surprised. But when _Donny_ gets mad…. Let me tell you, you don't want to be the one he's mad at. Anyway, after that it was another week before I practiced again, in secret or otherwise.

I eventually began to get over everything that had happened. I mean, I still know it was my fault, but I have decided not to dwell on that and to simply make myself a better ninja and a better leader—and a better brother. I've never forgotten Kizake or what his desire for revenge did to him. That could have been me….

We've been a closer family since we got back. You should have seen the looks on Casey's and April's faces when they found out we were alive. And Master Splinter—well, he has a few more gray hairs now, but just knowing we are safe has made up for that, I think. Raph is pretty much Raph again—I don't know whether to be glad or disappointed. He doesn't run off as much as he used to, but he's still no fun to be around when he's mad (or, rather, madder). Donny's happiest reunion was the one with his lab. He's met and surpassed his record as to the most inventions and projects successfully finished in a week. And Mikey… well, Mikey's Mikey. He's back to comic books, video games, and action figures—with a vengeance.

I can safely say that those days in Kizake's grasp were the worst of my life, but in a way I'm not sorry they happened. I have a better appreciation for my brothers now, and more determination to become a better leader. My suffering caused me to grow. If I can better protect my brothers now, then it was all worth it.

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Okay, this wasn't exactly how I expected this chapter to go, but I kind of like it. I hope you did too. Well, it's finally finished. I love that bittersweet feeling I get whenever I finish a story. I can't wait to get started on my next one.

Thanks to everyone who read my story, and especially those who reviewed it. I should be publishing the first chapter of my new story in a few days. Thanks for everything.


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